Time is the Path to Strength
by Repiece
Summary: Zeref sends Natsu back in time to grow stronger in order to defeat him and protect his friends who died during the fight with him. Now Natsu has to relive his battles, but this time as a much stronger mage. Time Travel Fic NatsuxHarem
1. Natsu Goes Back in Time

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related which includes the characters of Fairy Tail.

**Rated M for future lemons! You have been warned!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: Natsu Goes Back in Time<strong>

Natsu was in pain. His entire body hurt so bad if it wasn't for his will to fight, he would have been already dead. However, it wasn't the time to think about such things. He had to get back up. Everyone in his guild, his family, were depending on him to succeed. He had to win, there was no other option. If he didn't then, they were going to be killed. He couldn't let that happen.

He pushed himself off the ground with the little strength he had left. He managed to get to his knees and keep himself up using his arms to support himself, but he couldn't go any farther. He coughed up blood as his insides felt like they were being torn to shreds. He raised his head to look around. His eyes widened in horror at the destruction he failed to prevent.

"No..." He muttered as his entire body shook in fear. Tenrou Island, the place where the first Guild Master was buried and where the test to become an S Class Mage of Fairy Tail took place, but now, it looked like hell rose and occupied Tenrou Island as it's new home. The forest was completely engulfed in flames and the earth looked like several earthquakes hit it. It was amazing that the Island wasn't sinking into the ocean. "No..." Natsu growled. He looked over to his right and his heart felt like it just shattered at the sight of his nakama.

They were all sprawled across the area. They weren't moving. Fear set into his heart at their motionless bodies. "E-Everyone..." He called out to them, but none responded back to him. Looking at each one of his friends one at a time, he understood why they weren't responding to him. They were all...dead. "N-No..." Natsu's entire body shook at the realization. Each of his friends were covered in a pool of blood and the eyes from those that were facing in his direction, were lifeless. Tears started cascading down his cheeks. "N-No...NO!"

Natsu couldn't hold it back anymore. The tears were now streaming down his face like two waterfalls. He continuously slammed his head against the ground. "Damn it! Damn it! DAMN IT!" He cried. He dug his nails into the ground and clenched his hands into fists, dragging some of the dirt along with his motion. He couldn't believe he let his friends down. Because of his weakness he couldn't save them. Lucy, Happy, Erza, Gray, Gajeel, Mirajane, Elfman, Lisanna, Wendy Master, everyone. He couldn't protect them. "I'm so weak! If only I was stronger! I'm sorry! I'm sorry, everyone!"

"Natsu..." A low, but cool like voice whispered his name making Natsu's eyes widened. He recognized the voice. He raised his head and looked over his shoulder up at the black haired man known as the legendary black magic user, Zeref.

"You..." Natsu growled angrily at him. It was all his fault. It was because of him, his friends were all dead. He wanted to beat the crap out of him, but his body couldn't do what the mind wanted. When he tried to move, pain shot throughout his body. He put a hand on his mouth and started coughing. He coughed up some blood and felt the red liquid fall onto his hand, as well as some drops fell to the ground below him.

"I'm sorry...Natsu." Zeref apologized. Natsu eyes widened at his apology, but instead of getting forgiveness from the fire mage, he was greeted with more anger.

"Your sorry? YOUR FUCKING SORRY!" He shouted, which only caused his body more pain, but he ignored it and continued. "Don't tell me your fucking sorry! You destroyed this island! You killed my friends and all you say is I'm sorry! I will never forgive you!" He coughed up blood again, but didn't cover his mouth with his hand this time and just splatted his blood all over the ground.

"Natsu..." Zeref muttered his name softly, knowing the pain he was in. Everyone he tried to get closer to will just be killed by his black magic. His curse was something he wished so much to get rid of. He never meant to kill his friends. After all, Natsu was supposed to defeat him before any of this were to happen. However, he wasn't strong enough to beat him. Natsu was the only man in the entire world that could defeat him. But he was way to weak to do so. He didn't want this, but he had no choice. If only there was a way to reverse everything. If only there was a way to go back in time. A realization just hit him. If Zeref remembered correctly there was a spell that could do such a thing. Granted it's a spell of black magic, but this could really be the only chance both he and Natsu have.

"You bastard...!" Natsu growled in anger as he fell down to one elbow, his body quickly losing it's strength. Zeref noticed he started to breathe heavily and he knew Natsu was close to going into cardiac arrest.

"Natsu...listen to me. I know a spell that will send you back in time." Natsu's eyes widened at his words and looked up at Zeref.

"W-What?"

"Like I said, it's a spell that will send you back in time. Natsu, you are the only one who could defeat me...but you have to get stronger than you are now. I will send you back in time two years before the day you meet Lucy Heartphilia. If you do not want a repeated performance of what just happened, then I suggest you train yourself so that all the battles you had difficulty in before this one are going to be easy as pie." Zeref explained.

"W-Why are you...?" Natsu asked, confused by what the man who killed his friends was suggesting.

"Like I said before, you are the only person in this world that could defeat me. I am tired of living with this curse. I want to die already but because of this curse I cannot. You are the only person who could kill me and finally free me from this curse. Please Natsu, if you do this, then it won't only help you, but help me as well. You are the only one who could do this." Zeref pleaded as he clenched his fists.

Natsu was stunned. The same man who took the lives of his friends was giving him the chance to go back in time to get stronger. He would be an idiot not to take the deal. He had to. He owed it to his friends. There was no way he was going to let them down a second time and he would make sure to protect and save all of his friends. "A-Alright." Natsu agreed.

Zeref showed a small smile. "Thank you." With that said, he closed his eyes and started chanting the spell. Natsu stared at him until a circle appeared on the ground around. The circle began to glow a dark purple color and then a bright light rose from inside the circle where Natsu was. Natsu watched in awe and it turned to surprise when he felt his body changing.

"W-What happening to my body?" He asked, panicking a bit.

"Your body is changing back to what it was back then. You will, however, remember everything you have experienced up to this point. It is best that you do no tell anyone that you know what will happen in the future. It would not only cause chaos, but there could be a possibility that the meeting between you and me will never happen and your friends will die just like they did today." Zeref warned Natsu who's eyes widened. He turned his head toward his friends and frowned.

"Everyone...I promise...I promise that I will protect you this time...I will become stronger...and I will defeat you..." He turned back to Zeref and glared at him. Zeref wasn't fazed by his glare, but smiled.

"Yes...let us hope you do..." He clasped his hands together and finished his chant. "Forbidden Black Magic: Tempus Revertere!" He shouted and the light got brighter until Natsu was engulfed by the light. Once the light disappeared, so did Natsu. Zeref let go of his hands and felt exhausted from using so much magic at once. He fell backwards and landed on his back. He looked up to the black smoke covered sky and closed his eyes. 'It's all up to you, Natsu.'

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><p>Natsu closed his eyes when the light got really bright as he felt a strange sensation go up and down his body. When the sensation stopped, he began opening his eyes. When he opened them fully, he saw the clear blue sky. He blinked a few times to make sure his eyes weren't fooling him. They weren't. He sat up and looked around. Did he really go back in time?<p>

"Natsu!" Natsu's ears perked up from the all too familiar voice of his blue furred friend, Happy. He turned his head around and looked over his shoulder to see the cheerful Exceed flying toward him, carrying a fish in his small hands. Natsu didn't care about that though. He was just so happy to see his friend being alive. In one swift motion, Natsu stood up and ran toward Happy, giving him a huge hug that looked like it squeezed the life out of the Exceed.

"Happy! I'm so glad your alive!" Natsu exclaimed making Happy confused.

"N-Natsu...I can't...breathe..." Happy managed to say through the hug and Natsu immediately let go of Happy and chuckled nervously, scratching his cheek.

"Ah...sorry..." He apologized as Happy tried to catch his breath.

"What did you mean by you being happy your alive, Natsu? Did I die? Oh no!" Happy began to panic at the thought of him being dead and everything was only a figment of his imagination.

Natsu laughed. "No, your not dead Happy, but you..." Natsu stopped when he remembered what Zeref said about mentioning anything about the future. "Nothing...never mind..." He looked down at himself and noticed that he was shorter now then he was a few minutes ago. He looked back at Happy and saw that he also looked younger and smaller. 'I guess I really did come back in time...' He closed his hand into a fist. 'This time...this time I won't lose to him...I will become stronger...I will protect my family...I will never lose to anyone again.'

"Natsu? Are you okay?" Happy asked finding his behavior odd.

"Mm. I'm great!" He replied with a wide grin. "Happy..."

"What is it?"

"Let's go on a journey!" Natsu suggested.

"Huh? Journey? Oh...you mean like a mission!" Happy exclaimed, excited about a new mission.

"No, not that." Natsu said, leaving Happy confused.

"Then what?"

"A journey to get stronger!" Natsu answered as he showed a sad smile and looked down at the ground. Happy was confused by his smile and even more confused at this journey he wanted to go on.

"Natsu...is something wrong?" Happy asked looking worried for his best friend.

"Mm. I'm fine!" Natsu looked back at him, this time showing him a true genuine smile. "I was just thinking of getting stronger. So strong that the Old Man has to make me an S Class Mage! That way...I can save everyone..." He said the last part in a low voice.

"Natsu..." Happy frowned.

"So...what do you say?" Natsu asked again. "Would you come with me?"

"Of course!" Happy exclaimed. "Anywhere you go, I'll go!"

"Arigatou, Happy!" Natsu thanked his best friend. "Once we finish packing, we'll head out!" Natsu told him and turned around to walk in the direction of their house.

"Huh? Aren't we going to tell the others?" Happy asked, flying toward Natsu to catch up to him.

Natsu stopped and the sad smile he had before resurfaced on his face. "No...this is something I have to do by myself. I don't want to get anyone else involved. I'll just leave a letter to the Old Man that I'm going to be gone for a while." He told Happy. 'I have to get stronger!' He clenched his fists tightly.

"Natsu..." Happy whispered in worry at his friend. Natsu turned his head to look at Happy.

"It's alright! Now, let's go!" Natsu grinned and ran toward their home.

"Ah, Natsu! Wait for me!" Happy called out to him as he tried catching up to the fire mage of Fairy Tail.

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><p><em>Dear Old Man,<em>

_I'm going on a journey for two years with Happy. I know this is sudden, but I need to do this. Please don't come looking for me. I can't explain everything right now, but I promise you I'm not doing anything dangerous and stupid. Please don't let anyone to try to come after me. I need to get stronger for reasons I cannot tell you. Thank you for Everything! See you in 2 years!_

_Natsu and Happy_

Makarov reread the letter over and over again. Mostly because he couldn't understand Natsu's handwriting so it was hard to decipher what the letter said. However, when he managed to figure it out, he sighed and took a sip of his beer on his seat at the bar. 'That brat...doing something like this...what is going through that head of his...' Makarov took another sip and placed the letter into his coat's inside pocket. 'Oh well...as long as he is doing this to become stronger then I can't say anything wrong about that.' He smiled as he looked down to the liquid in his glass. 'Two years huh? It sure is going to be lonely without those two...I wonder how long it would be before anyone notices he's gone.'

**Two Weeks Later...**

"Master..." Makarov opened his eyes to see Erza Scarlet looking at him with a frown.

"What is it, Erza?" The Guild Master asked the red haired beauty.

"Some of us noticed that Natsu hasn't been coming to the guild lately and we were wondering if you knew where he was?" Erza asked.

"Hm? Oh...sorry no clue..." Makarov responded taking a sip of his beer. Erza was stunned to hear him say that with a easy going face.

"Master, how could you be so calm when you say that!" Erza shouted at him attracting the rest of the guild. "Natsu hasn't come back since we last saw him two weeks ago!"

"So? He's probably on a mission and you know how he is...he probably got himself lost and is taking so long to get back here." Makarov replied to her outburst. Erza wanted to argue, but decided against it and turned around to leave. Makarov eyed her. 'So, their finally noticing...to be honest I thought they would have noticed his disappearance a week ago.'

**Two Weeks Later...**

"Pops! Natsu hasn't come back! We should go find him!" Gray yelled as he slammed his hands down on the table in front of Makarov.

"Hm? I thought you hated his guts, Gray?" Makarov asked the Ice Mage.

"D-Don't get me wrong! It's not like I care about him...it just seems weird that he hasn't comeback after a whole month." Gray answered back crossing his arms.

"Gray...your clothes..." Erza scowled.

"Ah! When did I...?" Gray shouted in surprise as he was naked once again.

"Anyway, he's right Master. It isn't like Natsu to be gone for a whole month." Erza told him.

"Yes, I suppose that is true." Makarov answered closing his eyes. 'Hm? I know Natsu asked me not to, but what should I do? Tell them the truth? I guess I have to wing it...' Makarov opened his eyes as the entire guild was now awaiting his words. "You see...Natsu received a rumor about Igneel's location, so he went to go check it out. To be honest, I don't know when he'll come back."

"If that's true then, why did he say anything to us?" Mirajane asked.

"That's because he left immediately after hearing the rumor. He only told me about it because he was in a hurry and didn't want to miss him." Makarov lied through his teeth, which seemed to be bought by some of the guild. Erza, Mirajane and Gray all seemed suspicious about Makarov's story, but shrugged it off knowing their Master wouldn't lie to them about their comrade. Makarov sighed and then chuckled. 'I hope your journey is going well...Natsu...I wonder how strong you'll become in two years...' He smiled before taking a sip of his beer.

**Two Years Later...**

"We're finally here, Happy." Natsu grinned to his friend as he looked down at him.

"But why here, Natsu? I thought we were going back to the guild?" Happy questioned his pink haired dragon slayer.

"Mm. We are, but there is someone here we have to meet first." Natsu told Happy.

"Ah! Is it a friend of yours?" Happy asked.

"Mm. Yes, a very good friend." Natsu grinned. "Let's go!"

**To Be Continued...**

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><p><strong>Author Notes: <strong> Well, I hope you all like this first chapter! I am proud to say that this is not only the first time travel Fairy Tail fanfic, but also the first ever Natsuxharem fic as well...unless of course I couldn't find one and until then, I will treat this fic as the first for both categories. For those who are wondering, these are the girls who I plan to include in the harem:

Lucy

Erza

Mirajane

Lisanna

Wendy

If you want anyone else to be part of this harem, no yaoi pairings though sorry, then please tell me in your review. Until next time!


	2. Natsu Relives the Past

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related which includes the characters of Fairy Tail.

**Rated M for future lemons! You have been warned!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: Natsu Re-lives the Past, The Fateful Meeting<strong>

"Who is this friend of yours, Natsu?" Happy asked, flying next to Natsu and following him.

"She's a good friend of mine, although I don't think she will remember me." He told his flying blue feline friend.

"Huh? Why not?"

"I-It's complicated..." Natsu chuckled. 'I can't tell Happy about me time traveling. Hopefully everything goes smoothly.'

"How?" Happy asked, which Natsu hoped he didn't.

"It's...umm...hey look half price on fish!" Natsu responded pointing a finger to a fish stand.

"Huh! Where!" Happy looked left to right to find the fish stand.

Nastu sighed in relief when Happy didn't ask any more questions. Mostly it was because there was a salmon in his mouth, but hey at least he wasn't talking.

"Kyaah!" The sound of fan girls screaming was heard down the street and Natsu sighed. He remembered this part of his life very well. It was a disappointing experience, due to the fact that he couldn't find Igneel, but it was a moment he would cherish because this was the moment he met Lucy Heartphilia. He had to make sure that no matter what happened from this point on, he must protect her and the rest of his friends. This is what his two year training journey was for. The chance to rewrite the future. The chance to save the friends he let down. The friends he got killed because he was too weak. This time around, failing them was not an option.

Taking a deep breath, he ran toward the mob of fan girls. He tried to take a peek through the mob and at one point, his eyes saw Lucy. He grinned widely. He started pushing the girls away one by one to get through the mob to the center. He was so excited to finally see Lucy that he wasn't thinking straight. He didn't know what happened to the thoughts he had a few seconds ago, but he completely lost his mind at the sight of Lucy. When he finally broke through, he tripped on one of the fan girl's feet and fell to the ground. He looked up, hoping to see Lucy, but instead was met with this annoying guy he remembered.

"Oh my! Who knew I had admirers from the same sex? Hmph, well I guess the all powerful Salamander is admired by everyone, no matter what gender!" The annoying idiot gloated as the fan girls all screamed in delight. Natsu gave him an annoying look before letting his eyes roam back at Lucy. He grinned and without a second thought in the world, he jumped toward her and hugged her.

"LUCY!" Natsu screamed, so happy to see his female blond friend after everything he had been through. Lucy was in complete shock at the sudden hug by this pink haired man she never met before in her life. Her face was completely red at the contact. She had no idea why this person hugged her and she did something any woman in her position would have done. She kicked him in the groin area.

"W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU PERVERT!" Lucy screamed at Natsu, putting her arms around herself for protection. Natsu groaned in pain bending forward and holding his crotch.

"Natsu! Are you okay!" Happy asked landing on the ground and removing his wings before circling around the ailing Natsu in panic. Happy got another groan in response. The entire mob of fan girls got silent and their jaws dropped at the scene and even the self proclaimed Salamander was stunned at the sudden random event.

Natsu couldn't believe what he just did. He knew Lucy wouldn't know who he was, but his body didn't listen. He hugged her and this was his punishment. He couldn't say he deserved it, but he rather get kicked in the groin then letting his friend die because of his own weakness. Even so, it hurt...a lot.

"Ladies! I appreciate the enthusiastic welcome...but unfortunately I have to take my leave. So please...excuse me." Salamander snapped his fingers as a flame appeared and twirled several times around him. The flame then raised the man off the ground and he flew away from the crowd, leaving several girls to scream in excitement at his final message, "Ladies! Don't forget that I am hosting a party on my ship tonight! Please come!" The mob soon began to shrink in numbers until the only people left were an embarrassed Lucy, a critically injured Natsu and a worried full flying cat named Happy.

Lucy didn't know why she didn't leave after what happened, but she did have something to say to this pink haired man. "T-Thank you..." Natsu's ears perked at her thanks and lifted his head to look at her.

"F-For what...?" He asked through the pain.

"I don't why, but for some reason that guy was using a magic called charm and I fell for it. However, when you interrupted him and then h-hugged me all of a sudden, I guess I snapped out of it...so thanks..." Lucy told him, blushing a bit and looking away from him.

"N-No, problem..." Natsu groaned as the pain was slowly subsiding.

Lucy looked back at him and started feeling bad over what she did. Sure she thought it was the right thing to do, after all he did just suddenly hug her out of nowhere. Not only that, but he even said her name. Did he know her? She was sure she never met him. She was curious to find out how he knew her. Maybe she knew him as well, but her memory was just foggy. "Ano...I'm sorry for hitting you..."

"Don't worry about it..." Natsu grinned at her as he was able to get on his knees.

"H-How about we go get something to eat as my way of saying sorry...?" She asked avoiding eye contact with him.

"Huh? Really!" Natsu exclaimed with a much large grin. "You hear that Happy!"

"Aye!" The feline cat cheerfully shouted.

Lucy was stunned at the sudden change of expressions from the both of them. She didn't know if she should feel happy that they accepted her apology or uncomfortable at the sudden change of mood. Either way, she hoped she didn't regret her decision.

"Yhuurr ah naiz burzoon!" Natsu spoke while stuffing food in his mouth.

"Yhup, yhup!" Happy agreed with a fish in his mouth.

Lucy sweat dropped at the two and the way they were stuffing the food in their mouths. She already felt like she was regretting her decision. She didn't know them and she offered to treat them. It wasn't that she didn't like them, after all they didn't look like those who would take advantage of girls like her. She was glad she didn't really care much about who she was with because she wasn't one of those stuck up rich girls who do care about their appearance and she just wasn't mean at all. "S-So, your Natsu and Happy...right?"

"Mm." Natsu nodded while continuing to stuff his face.

"Ayue!" Happy replied as well.

"So, umm, I was wondering...do I know you by any chance?" Natsu almost choked on the food he was stuffing in his mouth at her question. It wasn't like he wasn't expecting the question, it was just the timing that caught him off guard. He remembered correctly that she would have talked about her being a mage and not having a guild yet and that was when the progress into making her a member of fairy tail would have unfolded. But now, it was different. It's not like he could just tell her that he's from the future, after all Zeref did warn him. He had to think of something. After swallowing the remaining food in his mouth, he took a deep a breath.

"Oh...ummm...it's just that you remind me of someone I knew...hehe." Natsu lied.

"But you called me by my name..." Lucy told him, narrowing her eyes.

'Shit!' Natsu began to panic. 'Damn...what do I do? What do I say? This is bad!' Natsu started to avoid making eye contact with her. He then got an idea. 'Please let this work...'

"Well, you see I heard that you were looking for a guild to join and..."

"Wait a minute! How did you know I was looking for a guild to join!" Lucy asked.

'Shit! Now what do I do!' Natsu fidgeted in his seat as Happy watched the interrogation between the two. He looked down to make eye contact with his best friend, but found him useless as he looked away and started chowing back down on his fish. 'Traitor!' Natsu had to do something. Lucy has to become a member of Fairy Tail. She just had too. She was his precious friend that he has to protect. There had to be a way. Telling her the truth was not an option. Another idea popped in his head. Hopefully this one, didn't fail. "Would you look at the time, we have to get going!" He saw that Happy was about to open his mouth and Natsu quickly grabbed him, putting a hand over his mouth and ran off. "Arigatou for the meal!" Lucy heard him shout.

"Ah! Wait a minute!" Lucy called after them, but it was too late as they disappeared from her sight. Lucy sighed. 'Just who the heck was he?'

Natsu panted as he was glad he got out of that situation. 'That was way too close. If I stayed there any longer who knows what would have happened.'

"Natsu...wasn't she your friend that you were looking for?" Happy asked.

"Y-Yea..." Natsu answered, not turning to face him.

"Why didn't she remember you?" He asked.

'What's with everyone asking me so much questions!' Natsu thought. "I don't know...I guess it's because we only seen each other once before..." He lied.

"But..." Happy was going to interrogate himself, but Natsu cut him off.

"You know what just forget it! Let's go." Natsu told his feline friend.

"Ah? Where?"

"You will see when we get there...in about 4 hours..." Natsu added the last part quietly.

"Huh! 4 Hours!"

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><p>After the whole fiasco with Natsu, Lucy decided to calm herself down, but sitting on a bench reading the latest issue of Weekly Sorcerer. "Fairy Tail caused trouble again!" She said reading the headline of an article. "What is it this time! They destroyed the Devon Thief Family, but also destroyed 7 houses that belonged to townspeople..." She paused before going into a full blown laugh. "HAHAHAHA! That's too much!" She couldn't help but laugh. Fairy Tail was always causing trouble, similar to this event and every time she couldn't help but laugh. She turned the page. "Ah! Mirajane covering the gravure. Fairy Tail's calling card, Mirajane. I wonder if someone like her would be so reckless, too." Lucy let out a long sigh. "I mean, how do I join Fairy Tail? Do I have to learn some powerful magic? Do I have to go through interviews?" She thought out loud before grinning and clutching the magazine closer to her. "Fairy Tail Guild! It's the best!" She giggled.<p>

"I see...you want to join Fairy Tail." Lucy jumped in surprise at the sudden voice behind her. She turned her head around to see the same Salamander guy that was trying to charm her using his despicable magic, hiding inside the bush behind her.

"S-Salamander! What are you doing here!" Lucy asked.

"Oh man! Do you know that I have been looking for you for some time now!" Salamander began. " I really wanted to invite a beautiful lady like yourself to my party later tonight." He walked out of the bush.

"Huh!" Lucy looked at him confused. "Just a minute there! Don't think that charm magic you used on all the other girls will work on me anymore! The weak point of that kind of magic is 'understanding', if you know that that kind of magic is being used then it won't have any effect." Salamander chuckled.

"I knew it! I knew you were a mage when our eyes met. It's okay. I'll be happy to escort you to my party." Lucy gave him a 'Are you kidding me?' look.

"There is now way I want to go a party hosted by someone as despicable as you. Especially someone who uses charm magic to pick up girls." The man acted surprise, which Lucy didn't catch.

"Me? Despicable? On the contrary, my dear. I only wanted to be a celebrity at my own party. After all, it's no fun without an ladies there." He told her. Lucy sighed and turned around to walk away from him.

"No offense, but you're an idiot. Your no where close to being a popular mage." Lucy told him.

"Wait up!" Salamander ran after her. "You want to join Fairy Tail...don't you?" At this, Lucy stopped. She suddenly ran back to him.

"YOU'RE A MAGE OF FAIRY TAIL!" The man chuckled.

"Of course. I can put in a good word with the master for you if you come to my party of course." He lied again and once again Lucy didn't notice it as she was too infatuated at the thought of finally being a mage of Fairy Tail.

"R-Really!" The man nodded. "Ah! Thank you so much!" She said with her eyes as two pink hearts. "The party is going to fun, right!

"Of course!" Salamander fake chuckled. 'You're easy to read.'

"Thank you so much!" Lucy thanked him again in a flirtatious tone.

"Hehe, well then I guess I'll see you at the party." Salamander began walking away. "Oh, and don't tell anyone about the charm." He added.

"Hai!" She called after him. When he was gone, it dawned on her. "Crap, I fell for a psuedo charm!" But at that moment she didn't care. After all, she was going to join Fairy Tail. She jumped in the air in celebration. "I'M GOING TO JOIN FAIRY TAIL! WOOHOO!" She got back down and giggled. "All I have to do is be friendly with that idiot and I'm sure to get in."

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><p><strong>Later that night...<strong>

"Natsu...how about now?" Happy asked again for about the hundredth time. Normally Natsu would have gotten angry, but he got used to Happy asking the same question over and over again during their 2 year training journey.

"No, not yet." Natsu replied as he leaned against the stone railing that over looked the sea.

Happy perched himself on the railing and sat down, looking out to the sea the same way that Natsu was. He then noticed a ship that had a bunch of lights on and played music so loud, the two of them were able to hear it. He then remembered something that the guy Salamander said. "Ah! Isn't that the ship where that Salamander guy was supposed to have his party on!"

Natsu didn't respond. Mostly because he got sick at the mention of ship. 'Damn! Even after all of that training I still get sick on a moving vehicle. This sucks!' He groaned. Natsu looked at him and sweat dropped.

"Don't get motion sickness by imagining it!"

"Look! Look! That's the ship! Salamander-sama's ship!" A voice of a fan girl screamed, pointing a finger down to the ship to show her friend. "Aww! I wanted to go to the party too!" She pouted.

"Salamander?" The other girl asked.

"Huh! You don't know the great Salamander-sama! He's the great mage that is visiting our town!" The black haired girl answered. "I heard he is a mage of Fairy Tail."

Natsu's ear's perked up. He knew that the guy who proclaimed himself as Salamander would try to fool everybody by saying that he was a member of Fairy Tail, but even so, it still got him mad. "Fairy Tail? You think he's a new member?" Happy asked, looking up at Natsu. He was going to yell at him for saying such a thing, but stopped when he realized that both he and Happy were gone for two years. He had no right to yell at him.

"No..." Natsu muttered, anger in his voice. "There is no way someone like him would be a member of Fairy Tail." He told Happy and looked back out to the ship. His motion sickness came back to him as he knelt down and started taking deep breaths to calm himself down. 'It's time.'

* * *

><p>At the party, Lucy was calmly sitting on a chair inside the cabins, being a guest of Salamanders. She wore a sparkling magenta colored dress that brought out her figure very well. "So, your name is Lucy?" She nodded her head. "What a beautiful name."<p>

"Thanks!" Lucy smiled at his compliment.

"Now then, let us toast with a glass of wine, shall we?" He offered, pouring the wine in the two glasses on the table.

"D-Don't you have to attend to the other girls?" Lucy asked nervously, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"It's okay. I want to spend the night with you." He told her and snapped his fingers. Using his magic, small droplets of the wine rose. "Try opening your mouth and let the pearls of wine slowly come in." He told her.

Lucy could only gawk at him. 'He's so annoying! But...if I want to be a mage of Fairy Tail, then I have to be patient. Just be patient.' She coached herself as the droplets of wine headed toward her. She opened her mouth. 'Wait a minute.' In an instant, she shut her mouth and wiped the droplets out of the way, surprising Salamander. "What are you planning?" Lucy asked, glaring at him. "This is a sleeping drug, isn't it?"

"Oh?" Salamander smirked, impressed by her deduction. "I'm impressed you noticed."

Lucy gritted her teeth. "Don't misunderstand! I want to be a mage of Fairy Tail, but I do not want to be your girl!" Lucy stated.

Salamander began snickering. "You're a bad girl. If you were just to sleep peacefu-" He however, wasn't able to finish as the roof above them collapsed and a figure popped out from the debris that came along with it. Both Lucy and Salamander were surprised by this as the smoke cleared and the figure became visible to them. It was Natsu...and Happy, but he was in the air above the ship.

"Y-You..." Lucy muttered in shock.

"Don't worry, I'm here to...huh?" Natsu began, looking back to Lucy and noticed something was off. 'Wait a minute, wasn't she supposed to be...' It then dawned on him. 'Ah crap! I'm early!' He put his hands on his head in surprise. Then, his motion sickness took effect. 'Not again!'

"Huh? What the hell are you doing here!" Salamander glared at Natsu. "Men! Get in here!" He ordered and the next thing Lucy noticed was the she was being held hostage by a group of men.

"W-What is this!" Lucy asked as her arms were pulled behind her.

"Hehehe..." Salamander chuckled. "You don't get it, do you? This is a slave ship! Why don't you be a good girl and accept your fate as our slave now."

Lucy's eyes widened in shock. "W-What? What about Fairy Tail! You said you would make me a member!"

The man chuckled as he walked toward her. "Don't be stupid! Why would I be a member of a guild that stupid and filled with savages!" Natsu flinched. He didn't why, but his motion sickness was no longer affecting him. He stood up, his back facing where Lucy was.

"Oi..." Salamander, Lucy and his thugs all turned their attention to Natsu. He turned his head to face them and the glare he had on his face was so deadly, any person who was weak in fighting would have fainted. Salamander and his men flinched at the death glare he gave them, while Lucy was shocked. "How dare you make fun of Fairy Tail! I will make you eat those words you asshole!" He turned his body around and started walking toward them, each step making the villains fear for their lives.

"H-Hey now...what are you getting so angry for?" Salamander tried to calm the raging dragon slayer down. Natsu didn't stop. The man gulped. "Stop or otherwise this girl dies!" He yelled as he pointed a knife around Lucy's neck. Lucy's eyes widened in horror at the knife. Natsu didn't stop. "Hey! I'm warning you!" He tried again, but it didn't do anything. "A-Alright! You ask for it!" Lucy's eyes widened as she saw him begin to move the knife to slash her throat. Before anyone of them could blink, in a flash, Natsu appeared in front of Salamander and delivered a bone crunching fist straight into the cheek.

The blow Natsu gave sent Salamander flying straight into his men that were holding Lucy hostage, passed the walls of the ship and into the ocean. Lucy was just stunned from both shock and amazement. She fell to her knees after being released and looked up at Natsu. He continued to show his glare in the direction he made Salamander fly toward. About a minute later, Natsu's facial expression calmed down. He sighed. He lifted his fist and stared at it. 'I'm much stronger now. Before it took me a while to deal with him, but now...I can do this. I can protect my nakama. My training will not go to waste.'

"Natsu! Is everything settled?" Happy asked, soaring down to his friend.

"Mm!" Natsu exclaimed grinning at his friend.

"A-Arigatou..." Natsu and Happy looked down at Lucy who had her head lowered and a small blush on her face.

Natsu laughed. "Hahahaha! No prob-" He groaned and fell to his knees as his motion sickness returned.

'S-So lame!' Lucy sweat dropped. "A-Are you okay!" She asked.

"Aye! He always gets motion sickness on any thing that moves." Happy answered for Natsu. It was then that Lucy realized that he was flying in the air.

"Ah! You can fly!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Aye!" Happy answered cheerfully.

"Hey boss! What happened!" The voices of more Salamander's henchman yelled as they arrived at the cabin to see the destruction Natsu caused.

"W-What happened here!" Another asked before he saw Natsu, Lucy and Happy. "Hey! Did you do this!"

"Uh oh!" Happy said and then grabbed Lucy by her dress and flew up and away from the ship.

"Huh! Happy what are you doing! What about Natsu!" She asked.

"I can only carry one person." He replied.

"Oh...but Natsu can't fight in the condition he's in!" She retorted back.

"Huh! But we're flying away so we don't get caught in Natsu's destruction." Happy replied back.

"Huh?"

"I don't know what happened here, but from what I can tell you did this to our boss!" One of the henchman said as he glared down at Natsu, who groaned. "You better surrender or we'll kill you." Natsu didn't respond and groaned instead. "Hey, are you listen-"

"Your so annoying!" Natsu yelled and gave the henchman an uppercut that buried him into the ceiling of the room. The other henchman had their jaws dropped at the power Natsu just delivered. "All of you...make me sick..." He said before his motion sickness took over.

"Oi...are you serious?" The henchman sweat dropped at the sight of him being sick, his words hurting them a bit.

* * *

><p>"There has to be something I can do to help!" Lucy told Happy as the two of them were back at the port.<p>

"You can but why?" He tilted his head to the side. Lucy groaned and sighed. Instead of talking about it with this wing cat thing, she took out the keys she was holding by her waist and picked one out from the collection she had. "Hmm? What are those?" Happy asked. Lucy smirked.

"You'll see..." She told him and held the key in front of her. "Open! A door to the treasure vase palace! Aquarius!" Happy looked on in awe as the key shined brightly and in an instant, a mermaid came out of the water, pouring jar of water on herself.

"Wwwwwoooooooaaaaahhhhhh!" Happy shouted in amazement. Lucy grinned at his reaction.

"I'm a stellar mage!" She began explaining to Happy. "I can use these keys to summon stellar spirits from another world. That's my magic!" She then turned to Aquarius. "Now Aquarius! Use your power to send the ship back here to the coast!"

"Tch!" Aquarius responded, shocking the two as their eyes popped out of the eyes.

"Did you just 'tch'ed me!" Lucy yelled at her stellar spirit.

"Your so annoying." Aquarius responded looking bored.

"So you decide to tch!" Lucy yelled.

"Whatever! I'll do this, but just remember this...next time you interrupt me when I'm with my boyfriend...I'll kill you." Aquarius threatened as Lucy and Happy hugged each other, fearing the spirit's wrath.

"H-Hai!"

"A-Aye!"

"OORAAHHH!" Aquarius yelled and used her jar to summon a large tidal wave. Natsu sensed a strong vibration and remembered very well what it meant.

'Crap! I knew this would happen!' He thought and the next thing any of them knew, the tsunami collided with the ship and it began to head toward the coast, where Happy and Lucy awaited for it's arrival. The ship crashed into the harbor as any pedestrians that were in it's way were able to get away from it's path. Natsu coughed some water out of his lungs and lifted himself using his arms. He stood up and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. Looking back at the ship, he saw several of Salamander's men regaining consciousness. Natsu smirked. "Hopefully this isn't too easy."

"You did it, Aquarius! Arigatou!" Lucy thanked the spirit and in return earned a smug look from the mermaid spirit.

"Listen to me, kid. Don't you dare summon me the next three days! I will be vacationing with my boyfriend. You got that!" Lucy shook in fear at the tone of her voice.

"H-Hai!" Satisfied, the mermaid spirit disappeared with a flash of light, making Lucy sigh in relief. She then turned to Happy. "Let's go see if Natsu is okay..." Happy nodded and they took off.

"Although, I think he's doing just fine..."

"R-Right..."

When Happy and Lucy arrived at the ship, Lucy eye's widened and Happy had a big knowing smile plastered on his face. "Oi, Happy, Lucy! You guys are late!" Natsu told them as he sat on a huge pile of unconscious men that he knocked out.

"W-Wow..." Lucy muttered in surprise, a light blush on her cheeks.

"Your amazing Natsu!" Happy praised his friend.

"Yep and look I didn't destroy an houses this time!" Natsu laughed.

"Aye!" Happy agreed. It was then that the houses around the ship area began to collapse. The three of them looked with narrowed eyes.

"I think you jinxed it." Lucy commented.

"Aye." Happy agreed.

"Oops...my bad..." Natsu apologized.

"You..." The three of them turned their heads and saw a badly beaten up Salamander glaring at them.

"Y-You're still alive!" Lucy exclaimed in shock.

"How dare you ruin my business! You will pay for this!" He shouted. He pointed a finger at Natsu and a spiraling flame magic shot out of his finger and connected with Natsu.

"Natsu!" Lucy exclaimed in surprise that he didn't dodge.

"Bad mistake." Happy smiled.

"Huh?"

"You call this flame magic." Natsu's voice rang out from inside the flame. "It's disgusting! But thanks for the meal." He grinned and ate the entire flame magic.

"W-WHAT!" Salamander screamed in shock.

"H-He's able to eat fire! B-But how!" Lucy stared in shock as well.

"Because Natsu is a dragon slayer!" Happy told her.

"A dragon slayer?"

"Aye! It's an ancient magic that was used to kill dragons." He explained.

"But how is he able to eat fire?"

"That's because Natsu is kind of like a dragon now, so his entire body can do things dragons can, but not as powerful." Happy answered.

"W-Wow."

"Now then..." Natsu smirked as he hopped off the pile of Salamander's men and glared at the man who tried to make Lucy a slave. "Eat this!" He shouted and he engulfed his fist into a flame and punched Salamander in the face again, this time with a stronger attack that knocked some of his teeth out, along with adding another crack in his skull.

"W-Wow...Natsu's a-amazing..." She felt her cheeks get warm.

"Now then, we better go." Natsu told the two.

"Huh?"

"Hey! Were you the one who destroyed our homes!" A town person yelled at Natsu.

"That's why!" He ran and grabbed Lucy's wrist.

"Ah! Wait a minute!" Lucy yelled.

"You want to join Fairy Tail, right?" Natsu asked her.

"Huh? Y-Yeah...but..."

"Then, come with me!" He grinned and lifted his sleeve to show the mark of the Fairy Tail guild on his shoulder.

Lucy eye's widened. "You..."

"Mm. I'm a mage of Fairy Tail. Right, Happy!"

"Aye!"

Lucy couldn't help but put a warm smile on her face. "Okay!"

"Yosh! Let's go to Fairy Tail!"

"Aye!"

* * *

><p>A man ran as fast as his legs could take him. He had to tell them. He had to tell them. He was back. The guy who was gone for two long years returned. This was the biggest news any of them heard in a long time. He ran past the many people swarming the markets, pushing into some of them by accident and apologizing, but never stopped running. By the time, he arrived in front of his destination, he felt exhausted. However, he couldn't stop. He needed to tell them. Using any energy he had left, he stormed through the doors of the building, alerting everyone inside. They all stared at him, waiting for whatever it was he was going to say.<p>

"H-He's back..." The man started, taking deep breaths. "He's back...Natsu...he's...he's back!"

The sound of a silverware breaking into pieces was heard. The eyes of all were widened at the news. There was one smirk. 'So, you come back, huh? Natsu...'

**To Be Continued...**

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong> Well, here you all go, Chapter 2! I want to thank all of you who have reviewed the first chapter. They make me so happy and make me scream like a fan girl! Kyaaaahhh! Anyway, I'm having fun with this. I tried my best to not make this the same as in the manga/anime, so I hope I did well. Before I say anything else, there is something many of you have been wondering and that is the thing with Wendy. I will tell you this and I'll put it in bold because those who don't read the author's notes will. (Clears throat) **WENDY WILL HAVE A CRUSH ON NATSU AND THAT IS IT! THERE WILL BE NO DOING THIS AND THAT WITH HER YOU HEAR ME! SO ALL OF YOU WHO WERE WORRYING ABOUT THAT PLEASE DON'T! THERE ARE THINGS I WRITE ABOUT AND THEN THERE ARE THOSE THAT I DON'T AND THAT IS ONE OF THEM! **

Phew! Thanks for your time. Also, **the DragonBard**, cool pen name by the way, the reason I put both the sisters is because who doesn't love a little sister quarrel to see who gets the guy. I mean I bet a lot of families have that when one sister likes a guy and the other sister does to, so they fight it out for him (I didn't mean it literally but you get my point). Hopefully your okay with that.

Some are wondering whether this would be mostly NatsuxLucy focus. I would not answer if it will or will not. I will tell you all this. I have read a bunch of harem mangas and mostly all of them have the first women who they guy meets as the one he is destined with, but to be honest I don't like that. Harem should be about every one of the girls be giving a chance with the guy. So, I will give every girl in the harem equal chances, but you never know if I change my mind.

**Darkskeleton** thanks a lot for the error I made. I was watching the anime and because of it I made it with Gray being in his boxers and not fully naked, that's what you get for changes between manga and anime. I fixed it now.

Now, I will like to make two new additions to the harem team. Cana and Ultear! Congratulations! I was surprised that many of you wanted Cana, which I wanted to add too, but I didn't think you would want it. Ultear on the other hand was a surprise, but hey I agree with **Jarjaxle**, dark wizards deserve the love too! So, here is the updated list of the harem girls:

Lucy

Erza

Mirajane

Lisanna

Wendy (Look at the first paragraph of the Author's Notes! The big bold letters!)

Cana

Ultear

Remember, if you want any other girl to be involved, then please say so in your review!

I want to thank all of you who read the first chapter and a special thanks to those who reviewed. Those are...

**Ryvius** (Hi again!)

**markfrost**

**Age-Persona**

**Wild Rhov**

**Darksleleton**

**ShiningStellar**

**Tomahawk 3.0** (What happened to 1.0 and 2.0?)

**Jarjaxle**

**dxcx**

**Tobi Fan 321**

**the DragonBard**

**dragonick711** (Another cool name...i don't why, but if a name has a dragon in it, I automatically love it!)

**lightningblade49**

**Phil-0**

Thanks again! Until chapter 3!

Dah! (Bye)

WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE! THIS AIN'T BEELZEBUB!


	3. Natsu's Return to Fairy Tail

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related which includes the characters of Fairy Tail.

**Rated M for future lemons! You have been warned!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3: Natsu's Return to Fairy Tail<strong>

"I can't believe I'm finally going to be a mage of Fairy Tail!" Lucy was ecstatic as she followed behind Natsu and Happy. "Umm...are you really fine with carrying my luggage?" She asked Natsu.

"I don't mind!" He replied with a grin as he carried Lucy luggage in his hand.

"It's been a while, huh Natsu?" Happy asked the pink haired dragon slayer.

"Ah! It has." Natsu's grin grew wider. "I wonder how everybody is doing?" He asked, even though he knew the answer to his own question.

"Aye!"

"How long have you two been gone from the guild?" Lucy asked.

"Two years!" Happy answered. Lucy stopped and gawked at them.

"T-T-T-Two years! Why were you two gone for so long!" She asked. Natsu stopped and turned around to look at her.

'Should I tell her that I was training for the past two years? But I wonder what the Old Man told the others? Oh well, I'll just wing it.' He sighed. "I was looking for someone." He answered. Happy gave Natsu a quizzical look and Natsu winked at him.

"Huh? Why are you winking at me?" Natsu would have face palmed if it wasn't for the luggage in his hand.

"Nothing." Natsu responded. "Never mind, let's just go." He told the other two and they started walking again. Lucy stared at his back in question. She wondered if the answer he gave her was truthful or not. She shrugged it off. At least she was finally going to be a member of the guild she so desired to become a part of.

"Ah! There it is!" Happy shouted as Lucy looked ahead and saw the building that belonged to her favorite guild in the world, Fairy Tail. Lucy grinned as wide as possible at the sight of her dream guild. Her eyes glistened in delight of her dream of joining Fairy Tail was only a few steps away from becoming true. Natsu grinned as well at the sight of the building. The building he loved more than anything in the world. It was filled with the laughter and cheerful smiles of his friends and comrades. After everything he has seen and been through, he was going to see the people he called his family.

"Well then,...come on! Let's go!" Natsu told the two and started running. Happy smiled and flew after him.

"Ah! Hold up!" Lucy called after them and ran after them, her grin still plastered on her face.

When they reached the front of the guild, Lucy's excitement turned to nervousness. Her body shook slightly at the thought of getting rejected by the Master and that would really put a damper of her excitement from earlier. Natsu looked back at her and smiled, knowing how nervous it must have been for her. In fact, he felt nervous as well. Not as nervous as Lucy appeared to be, but still a fair amount. He was going to see his nakama after everything that happened. The dead bodies of his friends appeared in his mind and he mentally shook his head to erase such thoughts. They were alive and he trained for two whole years to get stronger so that he would never have to see their bodies covered in a pool of blood again. He cost them their lives once and he was not going to do it again.

"Lucy!" Natsu called her name and she turned to look at him. Natsu looked at Happy and he did the same. With two big grins from both, they were the first to welcome her.

"Welcome to Fairy Tail!"

Lucy felt herself calm down at their grins and nodded her head. Then the three pushed open the door.

"EVERYONE! WE'RE BACK!" Natsu and Happy both shouted in excitement. They looked around the guild and just like Natsu predicted, they were all shocked to see both of them in the flesh. Natsu couldn't but grin at their expressions. He looked throughout the guild and saw each and every member that he couldn't save, alive and well. The only members who he didn't see were Erza, who he knew was on a mission at this moment and the few members who they haven't met yet in this period of time. At the moment, it took his entire strength to not run up to his family and hug each one, except for Gray, the reason being was he was his rival and there was no way he was going to hug him.

"I-I-It's really him..." Nab was the first to speak, not believing what his eyes were seeing.

"S-See, I told you guys..." Niggy told the others.

_Flashback_

"_H-He's back..." The man started, taking deep breaths. "He's back...Natsu...he's...he's back..."_

_The sound of a silverware breaking into pieces was heard. The eyes of all were widened at the news. There was one smirk. 'So, you come back, huh? Natsu...'_

"_O-Oi...stop joking around..." Gray was the first to speak. "N-Natsu has been missing for over two years...why would he suddenly show up now..."_

"_B-But I'm not lying..." Niggy retorted. "I'm certain it is him..."_

"_Oh? Where's your proof?" Elfman asked, crossing his arms._

"_W-Well, I don't have physical evidence...but I heard a rumor going around that something happened in a town not far from here and the rumor stated that some mage caused a huge destruction over there..." Niggy explained his source._

"_Please...that could have been any mage..." Gray scoffed. "...although it does sound like something Natsu would do...but it couldn't be him..."_

"_But..."_

"_A rumor is just a rumor." Makarov spoke. "However, in every rumor, there is always a shred of truth behind it."_

"_Master..." Mirajane whispered. "...do you really think Natsu is coming back?" He closed his eyes and everyone in the guild were on the edge of their seats, waiting for Fairy Tail's Master to speak._

"_I'm an old man! What the hell do I know! HAHAHAHA!" Most of the members fell in shock at his response as he continued to laugh. Mirajane sweat dropped._

"_Oh Master..."_

_End of Flashback_

"N-Natsu...is that really you...?" Mirajane asked him and Natsu nodded.

"Of course! What other pink haired dragon slayer you know?" Natsu smirked.

"Aye!" Happy agreed.

Mirajane smiled and it grew as she felt tears start to form at the edge of her eyes. Natsu was surprised by the tears that were slowly developing and panicked. He knew there was a possibility that tears were gonna be involved, but he assumed it would have been his own tears at the sight of seeing the friends he couldn't protect, be alive and well. "Ah...Mira...don't cr-" He didn't get to finish as the white haired Take Over mage ran up and gave him a hug. Natsu was surprised at the hug, but he could understand why she did so. After all, he was gone for two whole years and he didn't even get to say goodbye to any of them.

"I'm so glad your back..." Mirajane whispered as she could feel Natsu grin.

"Ah! It's good to be back!" He laughed. Lucy watched the moment feeling both happiness and a feeling she never experienced before. She didn't know what it was, but she didn't like it. Mirajane released him and smiled at Natsu, who returned her smile with his own. "Oh yeah." Natsu said, looking like he remembered something. No one would have guess, especially Gray, at the sudden punch he delivered to his rival. Gray crashed into one of the tables and immediately stood up, giving Natsu a glare.

"What the hell was that for!" Gray yelled at him.

"I have been waiting two years to do that." He laughed as Gray became angry at his answer.

"You..." Gray growled and delivered his own punch to Natsu, who didn't even bother blocking, seeing how he missed these 'friendly' fights he had with Gray. Natsu crashed into the wall, making Lucy gawked at the event that just transpired. "How's that!" Gray grinned.

"Hahahaha!" He heard Natsu laugh as he stood up. "Not bad...although it seems two years have made you more weak than strong!"

"What was that!" Gray yelled back.

"Gray...your clothes..." Cana pointed out and Gray looked down to see him naked once again.

"Gah! When did I..." Gray yelled in shock. Cana sighed in annoyance.

"Hahahaha! Your an idiot!" Natsu laughed.

"I don't need to hear that coming from you!" Gray yelled back.

"Damn! You are all idiots!" Cana muttered. "Another one of those undignified idiots...I really hate that!" She muttered before taking the large barrel of alcohol by her feet and began chugging it down. Lucy gawked as the entire guild soon turned into a battle royal. Lucy watched in horror as the place began to get torn apart, with tables and chairs either being thrown or breaking due to attacks or bodies crashing into them.

"Oh my. It sure has been a while since the guild was so rowdy." Mirajane commented putting a warm smile on her face. "It's so great that Natsu returned after all these years." She added and then turned her head to the blond woman who came with Natsu and Happy. "And who are you?" She asked nicely.

"M-Mirajane...it's really you...in the flesh..." Lucy stuttered in shock at seeing the beautiful Mirajane in person after just admiring her in her magazine a few days ago. She then turned back to the destruction the members of the guild were doing and pointed toward it. "S-Shouldn't we stop this?"

Mirajane giggled. "There is no need to worry. In fact, it really has been a long time since something like this happened. I mean, just look how happy everyone is." Lucy blinked at her before looking back at the chaos and her eyes widened. She couldn't believe it, but they really were enjoying themselves. All of them were smiling and laughing, while being punched, kicked or thrown by each other. She didn't know how all this could make them this happy. "It's all thanks to Natsu's return." Lucy looked back at Mirajane. "I'm really happy that everyone can return to what they used to be like." With that comment, a bottle was thrown at the side of Mirajane's head, shocking Lucy.

"Mirajane!" Lucy called out as Mirajane looked back at her, her smile still in contact, despite the trail of blood that was falling down from the cut she received on her head. "A-Are you okay?"

"Of course!" She replied. "It really has been a long time since something like this happened. "So, who are you again?"

Lucy opened her mouth to introduce herself before Gray's voice interrupted her. "I don't know what the hell you have been doing these past two years Natsu, but I wasn't just sitting around. I'll show you what I'm made of!" Gray told Natsu as he closed his right hand into a fist and placed it on the palm of his left.

Natsu laughed. 'If only you knew...' He clenched both his hands into fists and they erupted into flames. "Let's go!"

"Wroooaaaahhhh!" Elfman roared as his arm began transforming due to his Take Over magic.

"It's time to end this!" Cana joined in as she rook out a card and magic began circling around it.

"Hmph, what a troublesome bunch!" Loke also joined in as the ring on his finger began glowing.

"W-Wait a minute...isn't this going a little overboard!" Lucy cried out as they prepared to use their magic.

"Oh dear...it appears so..." Mirajane smile faltered a bit in worry.

"That's enough!" A loud booming voice echoed throughout the guild and a large shadow covered the entire area. Lucy turned around and her jaw dropped and eyes widened in horror at the large, dark figure that appeared out of nowhere. "CUT IT OUT YOU FOOLS!"

"H-HE'S HUMONGOUS!" Lucy shouted and shook in fear.

"Oh, Master...you were here?" Mirajane spoke.

'M-MASTER!' Lucy was shocked. 'This guy is the Master! H-How the hell can I ask to join the guild to someone like him and be accepted!' She then noticed something. She looked around and everyone stopped fighting. She was amazed and in awe at how amazing this Master was to calm down the members of his guild so easily.

"Hahahahaha! What! All you give up already! That's pathe-" Natsu began, but wasn't allowed to finish as the Master shut his mouth by stomping his large foot on him. Natsu yelped in pain, but grinned, knowing this would happen if he said those words. Lucy sweat dropped.

"Hm? A newcomer?" Lucy flinched in surprise at his loud booming voice that was directed toward her.

"H-H-Hai!" Lucy replied nervously, but mostly in fear.

"Fnuuu!" The monster like thing began growling, making Lucy fear for her life at the thought what this thing might do to her. However, to her surprise, the monster started shrinking until it turned itself into a short old man.

"W-W-What!" Lucy shouted.

"Nice to meet you!" He said, raising his hand. Lucy blinked at him, still in shock as he jumped up to the railing above, accidentally hitting his head on the railing, before weakly climbing over and standing on the railing. He then turned to face the guild. "You brats done it again haven't you! Look at these!" He yelled showing them papers that he held in his hand. "All of these documents were given to me by the council!" He yelled and then started to name all the incidents each member caused. Lucy was astonished at all the things he was listening. From walking naked through town to a Talent Agency charging the guild compensation. "You guys...the council is so angry at me..." Lucy started shaking in fear as she saw the Master begin to shake angrily. "But who the hell cares about that! Natsu and Happy have returned! That means we get to celebrate all night long!"

The members of the guild all grinned and smirked. "YEAH!"

Lucy was surprised at the sudden change of attitude of not only Makarov, but the entire guild. She smiled. Fairy Tail was just as amazing as she knew it would be. She heard Natsu laugh and saw a wide grin plastered on his face as he and Happy began catching up with their friends they didn't see for two long years. She smiled. "So, what's your name?" Lucy looked away from Natsu and at Mirajane.

"Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Lucy Heartphilia and I w-was wondering If I-I could be a member of Fairy Tail." Lucy told her.

"Really!" Mirajane responded with a wide grin and she clasped her hands together. "That's fantastic! We would love to add new members to our guild!"

"So then..." Lucy asked, hoping she was not hearing things from her.

"Of course! As long as the Master approves then everything would be fine!" She told her and Lucy gulped. "Master!" Mirajane called Makarov as he hopped down to the bar.

"Hm? What is it, Mira-chan?" Makarov asked.

"Go on introduce yourself." Mirajane nudged Lucy.

"E-Eh...ummm...hello...my name is L-Lucy Heartphilia and I was wondering if I could join this guild please!" She exclaimed with her voice filled with nervousness.

"Hmm...I see. Well then, if you really want to join then there is one thing I need to make sure." Makarov told her. Lucy gulped.

'W-What could this thing be? Is it what kind of mage I am? Or maybe I don't look strong at all! Please let me be a member of this guild!' Lucy prayed as she waited for Makarov to tell her what she needed to officially join the guild. Just then, she felt something tap her on her butt. She blinked and turned her head down to see a hand there. However, it wasn't anyone's hand. It was Fairy Tail guild's Master's hand.

"Yep, it seems to be alright..." Makarov commented. Lucy blushed and threw anything near her, hitting Makarov square in the head, knocking him over the bar.

"You pervert!" Lucy shouted.

"Hehe..." Makarov chuckled, getting back up on the bar. "You're a feisty one!"

"Can I join or not!" Lucy demanded an answer.

"Of course you can. If Natsu brought you here then you must be an excellent mage." He grinned as Mirajane helped place a bandage on his forehead. Lucy's face lit up in excitement. She was going to be a mage of Fairy Tail. Her dream of joining her favorite guild was going to become a reality. She squealed in excitement. Natsu heard her squeal and looked over to her. He smiled. It was good to see Lucy smile. The image of her dead body popped in his head and he closed his eyes. He mentally shook his head to erase the image. She was alive and he was going to keep it that way.

"Now then, where would you like it?" Mirajane asked Lucy. Lucy was confused at first, but then saw the stamp she had in her hands and understood.

"Right here." She showed Mirajane the back of her right hand and she nodded. She stamped the symbol of Fairy Tail on her hand. When it was done, Lucy examined the symbol and grinned in excitement. She ran over to Natsu to show him. "Hey Natsu! Look, I'm officially a member of Fairy Tail!"

Natsu turned and grinned at her. "That's great Lucy!"

"Aye!" Happy agreed.

Lucy snickered, placing her other hand on top of the mark. Natsu couldn't help but smile at how happy she was. Even though some of the events that transpired were a little off, thanks to his own stupidity, everything was going just the way he remembered it. As long as everything went smoothly, then he would protect his friends from anyone who dared threatened them and that included the same man who gave him this second chance.

"Natsu..." The pink haired dragon slayer turned around to see the Master calling him.

"Ah! Old man! What's up!" Natsu asked, walking toward him.

Makarov signaled him to get lower and he did so. Makarov leaned into his ear. "Later tonight, I want to see just how strong you become. Meet me in the forest east of here." Natsu's eyes widened at the request, but nodded.

"Ah! You got it!" Natsu grinned and then joined the others in the celebration.

* * *

><p><strong>Later that night...<strong>

"Glad you came, Natsu." Makarov smiled as Natsu arrived alone. "Oh, Happy isn't with you?"

"Nah, once we got back home, he fell asleep instantly." Natsu chuckled.

"I see...poor thing must have been tired after that party. How about you, aren't you tired?" Makarov asked.

"Hell no! I've been pumped up ever since you asked me to do this! However, I should warn you...I'm not as weak as I used to be." He pounded his fist into his free hand.

"Haha, we'll see about that! Come, Natsu!"

* * *

><p>"Yare, yare...look at this mess." Mirajane sighed. The guild was a total mess after the party. Mostly everyone who was here earlier left, with only a few members remaining that were passed out on the floor. "Hm?" Mirajane hummed questionably. If there was one thing Mirajane learned ever since retired and started working at the bar was the ability to catch everything that was going on in the guild. However, for the first time in a long time, she seemed to have missed something. That something was Natsu and the Master. She never saw Natsu leave the guild and yet he wasn't among those who were passed out on the floor. The Master was also not here and she didn't see him leave either. Normally, he would keep her company when she had to stay late to clean up the guild, but he wasn't here tonight.<p>

"Mira-chan, something wrong?" Mirajane turned around to see Lucy looked at her with a questionable look.

"Ah no, it's nothing important." Mirajane told her.

"Oh..." Lucy whispered and looked around at the mess. "Does it always become so messy around here?"

Mirajane giggled. "Well, this is the first time it was this messy in a long time. I guess it's because of Natsu's return that it turned out this way."

"I see." Lucy smiled. "Natsu...he must be really fun to have around."

Mirajane matched her smile. "Mm. Natsu has always been the one person this guild could count on during it's toughest times. He would always cheer everyone up with his yelling and fighting. However, after he left and was gone for two years, things weren't the same. I'm so glad he's back."

Lucy chuckled. "By the way..." Lucy began. "...why did Natsu leave for two years? He told me he was out looking for someone."

"Mm." Mirajane nodded and her smile turned into a small sad one. "Before Natsu arrived, he was trained by Igneel. However, one day, Igneel disappeared and left Natsu alone."

"Igneel? Who is that exactly?" Lucy asked.

"Igneel was Natsu's somewhat foster father." Lucy tilted her head to the side.

"Somewhat?"

"W-Well, it's hard to say he was his father, since he was a dragon and all." Lucy's eyes widened in horror and shock.

"A-A-A D-D-D-D-Dragon!" She shouted loudly, earning some groans from the passed out guild members. Mirajane laughed.

"I knew you would have such a reaction. But even so, Natsu has always been looking for Igneel since the day he disappeared. Natsu was found by that dragon when he was little in the forest and he taught Nastu how to speak, write, culture and magic as well. Every time he would hear a rumor about him, he would immediately go to wherever the rumor took him. Normally he would have been gone days or even weeks at most, but...no one would have expected him to be gone for two whole years." Mirajane told her. "We all missed him and there were times when we all thought of the possibility that he would never return. But he's back and everyone is so happy."

"I see." Lucy smiled warmly. She didn't know Natsu that well, but from what she could tell from his personality and what Mirajane just told her, Natsu was someone who you could depend on. Despite his weird personality, Natsu was fun to be around with. He was able to place cheerful smiles to an entire guild with his arrival. It was almost like he was the heart of the guild itself.

"Well then, I'm pretty sure you are tired from today. If you don't have a place to stay at the moment, you could use the spare beds we have in that room over there." She told her, pointing to a door.

"Ah, thank you!" Lucy thanked her and walked over to pick up her luggage. When she turned back around she noticed that Mirajane started cleaning the mess and frowned. "Hey, why don't I help you clean up the place?"

"Oh, no you don't have to worry about all this. I'm used to cleaning up the place by myself, with some help from the Master of course." Mirajane kindly declined her request. Lucy shook her head.

"But I want to help you. I'm a new member so I don't know much about anyone and the least I could do is help clean up the place." Lucy said sternly.

"Well, if you insist." Mirajane smiled at her offer. Suddenly, the two of them felt a quick sudden shake that rattled some of the glasses that were lying around.

"H-Huh? W-What was that?" Lucy asked while regaining her balance.

"I-I don't know..." Mirajane replied unsure about the sudden quake as well.

* * *

><p>Makarov's eyes widened. He wanted to know just how strong Natsu became and to be honest, he would have never expected him to get this strong in just two years. But strong was not the word to describe how powerful Natsu looked like right now. Never in his long life did he see something like what Natsu was now. There weren't any words to describe it.<p>

"N-N-Natsu...w-what in the world...d-did you do these past t-two years...?" Makarov stuttered.

Natsu chuckled. "Pretty cool, huh old man!"

"Natsu...I'm quite impressed..." Makarov complimented, still stunned.

"Thanks, old man!"

* * *

><p><strong>Next morning...<strong>

"Hm? A quake last night?" Gray raised an eyebrow. "I don't remember feeling one last night."

"Really?" Lucy asked and he nodded his head.

"It must have been your imagination." Gray suggested.

"But Mira-chan also felt it, right?" Lucy asked her as she walked past them, holding a tray full of food on it.

"Mm. It was a small one, but quakes are pretty rare around here." Mirajane told Gray. Lucy then noticed the food on the tray.

"Mira-chan, why is the food on fire?" She asked, pointing toward the flames.

"Oh, this is Natsu's breakfast." Mirajane answered with a smile.

"Eh! He eats fire for breakfast!" Mirajane nodded at her surprised expression.

"Yep." She replied back before heading off to deliver Natsu his food. "Here you go, Natsu!" Natsu watched in excitement as she placed his food on the table.

"Arigatou, Mira!" Natsu thanked her and started stuffing his face with the food.

"What about me?" Happy asked as Mirajane smiled and pulled her other hand out from behind her to reveal some fish she held in her hand. Happy's face glistened with excitement as Mirajane handed him the fish and he started chowing down on them. Mirajane giggled at the two before walking away to attend to the others.

"Hey Natsu..." Wakabe whispered to him. Natsu turned his head to look at him, continuing to eat. "...where did you find such a cutey!" He asked with a wide grin.

"I wonder if she'll join my team." A man next to Wakabe wondered, his eyes turning into hearts.

Natsu ignored them and devoured the last piece of his food in one gulp before standing up. Happy too finished and followed Natsu. "Hey Natsu! Where are you going?" A man asked.

"It's been a while since I've been on a mission!" He responded, heading over to the request board. "Well, what kind of request should we take?" He asked Happy, even though knowing he wouldn't be taking on any of the requests on the board.

"Did my daddy come back?" Natsu turned his head over to the little boy who was talking to Makarov.

"You're annoying Romeo. If you are the son of a mage then be a good boy and wait patiently for his return." Makarov told him.

"B-But he said that he would come back in three days...b-but it's been a week since then..." The boy started to form tears in his eyes.

"Macau's job is at Mount Hakobe, isn't it?" Makarov asked.

"It's not far, either!" The boy yelled. "Please look for him! I'm worried about him!"

"No! Your dad is a mage! We have no mage here who can't take care of himself here! Go home and drink some milk or something!" Makarov yelled at the worried little boy. The boy began shaking before he jumped up and punched the Master in his face.

"Idiot!" He yelled before running away.

Natsu frowned. He knew what Macau's son was going through. He knew Macau was in trouble and he was planning on saving him. Turning away from the request board, he walked over to Lucy. Lucy noticed Natsu heading over to her direction and looked up at him. "W-What's wrong, Natsu?" He suddenly grabbed her arm and started pulling her with him. "H-Hey, what are you doing!" Lucy shouted.

"You'll see." Natsu replied and the three of them left the guild.

"Aren't you going to stop him?" Mirajane asked Makarov.

"Nah, no one should decide what he should do. Just let him be." He replied.

"But...does he even know what kind of request Macau took?" Mirajane wondered.

Makarov didn't think of that. 'Did he know? That can't be...he was gone for two years and Macau left only a week ago...I know I said that Macau went to Mount Hakobe, but does he know the reason? Hmmm...'

Macau's son tried wiping away his tears, but they continued to fall from his eyes. He couldn't understand why any of them would help his father. It just didn't seem right. He then felt a hand on his head and looked up to see Natsu walk by him, letting go of his head as he did so. "Don't worry, we'll get your father back." He turned his head to look up at the warm smile of Lucy and he nodded his head. The tears he had were no longer falling.

* * *

><p>"So, what exactly kind of request did this Macau person take?" Lucy asked but got a groan in response from Natsu. "Y-Your motion sickness is that bad?"<p>

Natsu couldn't reply, so Happy did it for him. "Aye!"

Natsu groaned once more. "By the way, you two wouldn't happen to know any place for me to live, would you?"

"You can live with Natsu and me!" Happy suggested.

"If you're seriously saying that, then I'll have to pull out your whiskers, little kitty." She threatened, a slight blush on her cheeks.

Just then, the movement of the wagon they were in stopped and Natsu's motion sickness disappeared instantly. Grinning, he pushed himself off the couch. "It finally stopped!"

"Are we there?" Lucy asked the driver.

"Ah...no...but it looks like I won't be able to go any farther than this." He answered, making Lucy raise an eyebrow in confusion. They opened the door and were met with a full blown snowstorm. Lucy was shocked that there was a snowstorm like this during the summer even if they were on a mountain. Natsu was unfazed by the storm as he used his own magic to warm his body up. It wasn't the same with Lucy. Natsu noticed this and reached into his bag to take out a large blanket.

"Here." Natsu handed her the blanket and she looked at it for a few seconds before accepting it.

"T-Thanking you, but I don't think it would..." She stopped talking when her body suddenly felt all warm as soon as she put the blanket over herself. "W-What? How am I...?"

"That blanket is something I found during my two year journey." Natsu explained as he started walking forward. "It's a special blanket that absorbs my magic allowing anyone to wear it to get warm."

"Eh? Wow..." Lucy said in amazement as she followed Natsu.

'I think it would be better to not tell her what it's made of...I'm pretty sure it would freak her out...' Natsu made a mental note as they traveled through the snowstorm.

"So, what exactly did this Macau person have to do in a place like this?" Lucy asked.

"To subdue the brutal monster, 'Balkan'." He answered, making Lucy eye's widen in fear.

"W-WHAT!" Lucy screamed.

"Shh, don't start an avalanche." Natsu put his finger against his lip.

"Aye!" Happy mimicked.

"S-Sorry, but why didn't you tell me earlier?" Lucy asked.

"I thought you wanted to go on missions and stuff...?" Natsu asked.

"Well yeah, but I was thinking of starting with easy jobs before taking on the hard ones!" Lucy replied.

"Oh, too bad." Natsu simply answered.

"Damn you!" She growled in anger.

"Hey Macau!" Natsu shouted. Where are you!"

"Weren't you the one who said not to shout!" Lucy yelled at him.

Natsu didn't respond to her as he sensed someone or something above him and looked up to see the silhouette of something on top of a cliff. He watched as it jumped off and began descending down toward them. Lucy screamed as Natsu took three steps back to allow the figure to land on the snow a few feet in front of him. The figure turned out to be the Balkan.

"It's the Balkan!" Happy shouted in surprise.

"Gah! Monster!" Lucy screamed in fear. The ape looking monster growled and glared at Natsu before turning it's eyes toward Lucy and then scurried toward her. "Waaahhhh!" Lucy screamed as the ape monster grabbed her by the shoulders.

"A human woman! Uh ho!" The Balkan said, sticking his tongue out like the perverted ape he was. The Balkan suddenly felt a hand on it's shoulder and turned it's head around to see the culprit to be Natsu.

"Hey, get your hands off her ya' dirty ape!" He growled and lit his fist into a flame and punched the Balkan in the face. "Iron Fist of Salamander!" The Balkan spat out blood at the punch and fell to the snow, cushioning the blow. Lucy let out a sigh of relief that she was rescued. "Oi, Macau!"

"Huh!" Lucy questioned.

"How could you let yourself be taken over by a Balkan! I mean come one, I don't remember you being this week." Natsu yelled at the ape.

"Umm, Natsu, what are you talking about?" Lucy asked.

The Balkan hopped back to his feet and put a hand to his cheek. "Uh ho uho!" He roared and charged at Natsu.

"Natsu! Watch out!" Lucy yelled. She reached for one of her keys and pointed the key toward the ape. "Open! A door to the Golden Bull Palace! Taurus!"

"MOOOOOO!" The mighty bull Celestial Spirit roared and charged at the ape.

"Wooooooaaaaahhhhh!" Happy exclaimed in awe.

'Oh...it's the pervert cow...' Natsu observed as the bull ran past him.

"I will protect Lucy and her boobs with my life!" Taurus roared as he swung his axe at the ape.

"Don't say something like that!" Lucy screamed at Taurus.

The ape jumped to dodge the axe and then landed on Taurus' shoulders. He then used his shoulders as a springboard to jump up, making Taurus fall face first into the snow as the ape ran toward Natsu again. "UH HO!"

"Didn't you hear me..." Natsu growled. "I said wake the hell up Macau!" Natsu yelled, punching the ape again, this time knocking him out.

"W-Wow...Natsu...your amazing..." Lucy whispered in awe. "Unlike someone..." She eyed Taurus who went to the fetal position and cried.

"That's mean Lucy!" Taurus cried.

"By the way, why were you yelling at the ape as if he's Macau?" Lucy asked Natsu.

"That's because he is Macau." Natsu answered.

"W-What?" Lucy asked confused. Suddenly, something was happening to the ape. The ape began changing and instead of an ape, a person took it's place.

"HUH!" Happy and Lucy screamed in surprised. Natsu ran toward Macau and looked down at him.

"Oi Lucy, Happy! Macau is injured!" Natsu yelled over to them and they rushed over.

"This wound is serious!" Lucy examined as the four of them were now inside a cave they found. "We only have a first aid kit, but it won't do much with a wound like this." Lucy cringed in fear.

"Like hell I would let him die!" Natsu yelled. 'I won't let any of them die!' Natsu lit his fist and pressed it against the wound.

"W-What are you doing!" Lucy shouted, surprised by what he was doing.

"This is the only way we could save him." Natsu told her as Macau screamed in pain. "You got to hold on, Macau!"

'I see. He's burning the wound so it would close up and stop the blood. That can work!' Lucy thought in amazement at Natsu's quick thinking. Macau began coughing as he opened his eyes slightly.

"N-N-Natsu...is that..ugh...really you...?" Macau whispered.

"Mm. I'm back." He grinned at him.

"Me too!" Happy exclaimed.

"You too...Happy...I'm pathetic..." Macau said making Lucy frown. "I-I managed...to beat...19 of them...but...the 20th one got me..." He said sadly. "...I don't think...I can face my son...like this..."

"Baka!" Natsu yelled. "Romeo is waiting for you to come back! There is now way I'm letting you die! You hear me!" He yelled. "Just don't speak!"

Macau looked at Natsu before doing what he said and stayed silent as Natsu, Lucy and Happy worked together to bandage up Macau's energy. 'I can't believe he managed to defeat 19 of those ape things...I wonder...am I really fit to be in this guild...?'

Romeo sat on a bench as he waited patiently for the arrival of his father. He read a book while he waited. He then heard footsteps and looked away from his book to the direction the footsteps were coming from and his eyes widened at the sight of his father, Natsu, Happy and Lucy. He felt his eyes begin to tear up as his father gave him a sheepish smile. Romeo ran toward his father and gave him a huge hug as the other three watched the moment between the two with warm smiles.

"Daddy...I'm sorry...I...because I said those things..." He cried into his father's chest.

"No...don't blame yourself...it's my fault for making you worry..." He whispered in his ear. He then pulled away and grinned at his son. "Next time, ask those kids if their fathers ever defeated 19 monsters by themselves." Romeo looked up and continued to cry as he nodded his head.

"Okay!" Natsu smiled and started walking away, with Lucy and Happy right behind him. "Natsu-niisan! Happy! Lucy-neechan! Arigatou!" Natsu waved his hand to tell Romeo he heard him as Lucy turned around and waved her hand goodbye.

If there was one thing about this guild that Lucy loved the most, it was the fact that the bond between all of them were just like family. They were kindhearted people. If any of them feel sad, the others would do anything to make them smile again. 'This guild really is the best.'

Natsu clenched his fists and looked down at them. 'I promise all of you...with this strength...I will not allow any of you die! If I can't keep that promise...then...I could never forgive myself.'

**To Be Continued...**

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes: <strong>Well, here is chapter 3 and I hope all of you liked it. I tried my best not to make this too much manga based and I hope I didn't. I will try to make Natsu's battles not seem so easy as I did this one. I also have one more thing I want to ask all of you. I am thinking of adding Levy in the harem because there is only Levy x Gajeel stories, but that is only if you guys are okay with it. I do support Levyxgajeel pairing, but I think she should join in on the future fun, don't you think? But if you guys don't want it then I won't. Anyway, until next time!


	4. Natsu Forms His Team

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related which includes the characters of Fairy Tail.

**Rated M for future lemons! You have been warned!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4: Natsu Forms His Team<br>**

"Ahhhh! I've found a great place!" Lucy grinned and stretched as she laid in her bathtub in her new apartment. She was ecstatic that she was able to find a place for her to live after just joining Fairy Tail two days ago. She loved her new place. Sure there was hardly anything in it since she just moved in, but she was sure to fill up the apartment with furniture and other household items. "For only 70,000 Jewels, it has great spacious rooms and a lot of storage space. The pure white walls, scent of wood, an old fashioned fireplace..."

"Yo Lucy..."

"It even has a cooking stove, but most import...en...WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING HERE!" She shouted at both Natsu and Happy who ate snacks in her room. They grinned at her. She could feel herself blush at the sudden appearance of the dragon slayer and his feline friend. Not only that, but she only wore a towel! Just like when they first met, she kicked him, this time in his face. "WHY ARE YOU HERE!" She yelled as Natsu crashed into her wall.

"Natsu!" Happy screamed.

"Ite! What was that for!" Natsu yelled back, placing a hand on his cheek.

"I'm the one asking the questions here! Why are you here!" Lucy demanded an answer, placing her hand on her hips.

"I wanted to check out your new place." Natsu answered, hiding the real truth why he came.

"So you decide to just come in without my permission! That's a crime!" Lucy yelled.

"It's not if you know the person." Lucy gawked at him.

"It doesn't matter either way! It's still a crime even if the person knows you!" Lucy retaliated.

"Really!" Natsu was surprised by this.

"Don't be so surprised! It's common knowledge!"

"What's this?" Natsu asked picking up a stack of papers off her desk. He knew Lucy loved to write and would do anything to prevent him from reading. He saw her run toward him to grab the paper away from his hands and he playfully raised his arm so she couldn't reach it.

"Natsu! Give it back!" Lucy shouted him. Natsu only continued to playfully keep the papers out of her reach. He chuckled at how hard she was trying to grab the papers away from him. She stood on her toes, but not even that was enough. She gritted her teeth in anger and tried jumping to get it. She couldn't, but the jump caused the towel to unravel and drop to the floor. Lucy was oblivious to the fact that the towel she had on fell, but when she saw Natsu's surprised and shocked face, she looked down and her face turned completely red. She was completely naked right in front of the pink haired boy and she instinctively covered herself with her hands and kicked Natsu once again in the groin. "KYAAAAHHHHH!"

Natsu groaned in pain as he was hit in his groin for the second time by the blond haired Stellar Spirit Mage and if it was possible, it hurt more this time than the first. He dropped to his knees, grabbing his groin, causing the papers he held to rain all over the floor. Lucy quickly got down and grabbed the towel to cover herself before running toward the bathroom, leaving a pained Natsu by himself with his blue feline friend. "Natsu! Are you okay!" Happy asked his ailing friend, surprised at the interaction between the two.

Lucy's blush still hadn't disappeared from her face as she sat down on her bathroom floor, She couldn't believe what just happened. She was so focused on getting her novel back that she didn't realize what her movement could have done. She wrapped the towel around her nice and tightly, but apparently not so tight. She was so embarrassed that she kicked him in the groin again. She knew he was only playing around with her and was sure he had no ill intention. She stayed like that for a while before standing up and opening her door a bit to peak into her room. She frowned when she saw Natsu was still on the floor in pain and walked out of her bathroom. The towel was now wrapped nice and tightly around her and walked over to her drawers to get her clothes. She quickly ran back to the bathroom, not before taking one last look at Natsu, blushing a bit, and then closed the door.

Natsu groaned and didn't dare look up when he heard the door open. When he heard it close, though it was hard due to Happy's constant yapping, he raised his head and sat down on the floor. He let out another groan as the pain subsided. He looked at the floor and noticed all the papers that were scattered all over. He collected each one by one until he gathered them all and placed them on the table.

"Natsu! Are you okay?" Happy asked.

"More or less..." He chuckled as he sat down on a chair and at that moment, the door to the bathroom opened. Natsu turned his head and both he and Lucy made eye contact. They both quickly looked away, finding it hard to look at each other. Lucy still had a blush on her cheeks. She looked over to the table and saw her novel neatly stacked on it. She walked over to it and grabbed the papers. She went through them and wasn't surprised that they weren't in order.

"Gomenasai!" Lucy made a noise in surprise as she looked down to the floor to see Natsu on his knees and forehead touching the floor. Lucy couldn't help the giggles escape from her mouth.

"It's fine! It's not like you meant to do that." She told him. "Besides, I should be the one to apologize."

"Okay, apology accepted." Natsu exclaimed with a wide grin.

"So quick!" She shouted before sighing and sitting down on the table.

"So, when are you going home?" She asked, laying her head on the palm of her hand.

"What? Not for a while! I came to visit!" He told her with a toothy grin.

"Your so selfish!" She yelled back at him and he only chuckled. She sighed again. "Well, I'm sorry. I don't have any furniture or anything for you two to play or do anything with so there is no point in staying."

"What are you talking about? There is a bunch of stuff to do!" Happy told her, sharpening his nails.

"Don't do that!" Lucy yelled at him and he stopped, pouting. "What do you want besides just visiting me?"

"Nothing really..." He lied. Of course there was a reason for him to be at her place. This was the exact time he would create Team Natsu, along with Erza and Gray, but those two would get involved later. "Oh yeah..." He pounded his fist into the palm of his hand. "How about you show me all the key guys you got?"

"No way! I'll consume a lot of magic and they are not called key guys, they're called stellar spirits." Lucy corrected him.

"How many do you have?" Happy asked.

"6 units." Lucy exclaimed proudly. "See these..." Lucy took out her silver keys to show the two of them. "These silver keys are ones you can buy in stores, while these..." She took out gold keys this time. "...are gold keys that are extremely rare. They open the door of the Ecliptic Zodiac." Natsu still didn't quite understand much about Stellar Spirits, even though this was the second time she was explaining it to him, but it didn't really matter to him. He never judged anyone's magic no matter who it was. She then began mentioning the types of keys she collected and at the mention of crab, both Happy and Natsu got excited.

"CRABS!"

"CRABS!"

Lucy sweat dropped at them. "You get excited over such random things..." She sighed and looked back down at her keys. She then realized something. "Now that I think about it, I still haven't made a contract with Nicola, the Canis Minor that I brought back in Harujion." She then grinned at them. "I guess luck must be on your side today, I'm going to show you how a stellar mage makes a contract with a stellar spirit!"

"OOOHHH!" Natsu and Happy both shouted in excitement. 'Although I wouldn't call it luck if I got hit in the groin again...'

"Ah, wait a minute, you don't have to do a blood seal or anything like that?" Happy asked.

"No, we don't. Just watch." Lucy told him and pointed the silver key in her hand forward. She placed her free hand to her chest and started saying an enchantment. "I am the person who connects the road to the stellar spirit world. Thou...shalt respond to the calling and pass through the gate." Both Happy and Natsu watched in awe as the key started glowing. "Open the door to the Canis Minor, Nicola!" A gust of wind swept through the room and into the area where Lucy pointed her key and with a large poof, a small creature with a drill as his noise popped out. Happy had his jaw dropped to the floor, while Natsu grinned at the creature.

"Oh, it's Plue!" Natsu said out loud, gaining a curious look from Lucy.

"Huh? What are you talking about? Who's Plue?" Lucy asked and Natsu looked at her like she was crazy.

"What are you talking about? Don't you remember th-" Natsu immediately shut his mouth and placed both his hands over it as he realized what he was saying. 'Crap! This is the first time she ever summoned him so of course she wouldn't remember!' Natsu started to panic at the expression Lucy was giving him.

"Okay...what the hell is going on? First you say my name even though we never met before and now you were yelling at me telling me that I don't remember Nicola's name? Who are you?" Lucy demanded an answer and this time, he knew there was no way for him to get out of this situation.

_It is best that you do no tell anyone that you know what will happen in the future. It would not only cause chaos, but there could be a possibility that the meeting between you and me will never happen and your friends will die just like they did today. _

No, he couldn't let that happen. He had to find some sort of an excuse. The fact that Lucy was glaring at him with daggers wasn't helping his situation. Hell, he just had to wing it. "W-Well when I called you Lucy it was just a hunch because you kind of look like a Lucy and I called him Plue because...I saw him before with another mage and he called him Plue...yeah that's it..." He chuckled nervously.

"Huh? What are you talking about, Natsu? We ne-" Natsu slammed Happy down onto the table to shut him up as he laughed.

"Oh Happy, you're such a kidder..." He said while patting the poor feline on the head. 'Please let her believe me...'

His prayers were answered. "Whatever, let's just get on with this contract." She knelt down to Nicola's height and grabbed a pad and pen next to her. She was ready to speak to him when she noticed just how cute he was. He raised his hand to give her a wave and she just couldn't restrain herself. "Your so cute!" She squealed hugging the stellar spirit. Natsu smiled. "Now then, can I summon you on Mondays?" Nicola shook his head.

"Puuuun!"

"Okay, how about Tuesdays?"

"Puuuuun!" He nodded his head.

"Wednesdays?"

"Puuun!" Another nod.

"Thursdays too?"

"Puuuuun!" And another.

"Seems so plain and simple." Happy made a side comment as Natsu nodded his head in agreement as Lucy finished.

"There we go! The contract is now complete!" She smiled widely as Nicola jumped in the air.

"It's pretty easy." Natsu told her.

"It does seem simple, but it's also very important." Lucy told him. "It is very important for stellar spirit mages to keep the contract between them and the spirits. That's why I'll never break any of the promises I made."

"I see." Natsu understood the importance of keeping promises. He had one himself after all.

"Oh yeah! Now I have to name him." Lucy said. She then thought about it and Plue actually sounded like a good name for this stellar spirit.

"You know what, Plue does sound like a good name for him." Lucy told Natsu and he grinned. "Come here, Plue!"

"Puun!" The now named Plue ran over to her and she pulled him into a hug.

"Your just so cute!" Lucy nuzzled into him.

"It's weird..." Happy said.

"What is?" Natsu asked.

"He's a Canis Minor, but he doesn't go woof woof." Happy replied.

"So what? You don't go meow meow." Lucy retaliated. Plue then escaped from Lucy's hold and began moving like he was doing some sort of dance. "Huh? Plue what are you doing?" Lucy asked.

"Oh! I get it! Good idea, Plue!" Natsu suddenly exclaimed surprising Lucy as he got down to Plue's height.

"You can understand him!" Lucy shouted. Natsu then stood up and looked over at her with a grin. "W-What?"

"I've decided. Let's become a team, Lucy!" He told her and she looked back at him in slight confusion as Happy and Plue jumped in joy.

"Team?" She asked.

"That's a great idea, Natsu!" Happy exclaimed happily.

"Puuuuunnn!" Plue agreed.

"Yep, a team. All of us at Fairy Tail are nakama, but we usually team up so that harder requests can be easier." He explained to her. "So, what do you say?"

"Lucy couldn't help but grin at his request. "Mm." She nodded her head.

"Great!" He chuckled. "Not only that, but we already have our first mission together!" He told her taking out a request he hid behind him and gave it to her. Lucy was surprised that he already had a request and looked at the piece of paper.

"Hmmm, Shirotsume Town...that's not that far from here..." She then looked closely at the request and she was surprised by it. She thought her eyes were deceiving her so she blinked several times, but her eyes weren't. "Whoa! All we have to do is get a book back and we get 200,000 Jewels in return!"

"Right, isn't it an easy job!" He chuckled.

Lucy looked closely at the request and her eyes widened. It was a picture of a chubby man with a long mustache, but that wasn't the creepy part she was focused on. It was the words that were next to his picture.

_Warning_

_This person is a womanizer, a pervert and a hentai! _

_Is now hiring a blond-haired maid!_

Lucy gawked at this and began sweating nervously. She looked over at Natsu and Happy who were both grinning at each other. "Lucy is also blond so she would be perfect!" Natsu told Happy.

"Aye! She can sneak in for us!"

"You guys tricked me!" Lucy cried, stunned.

"Hahaha, don't worry! You don't have to do that!" Natsu told her as he and Happy chuckled. Lucy looked at them and let out a sigh of relief.

"So then what? This whole team thing was just so you could use me..." She asked a bit hurt.

"Of course not!" Natsu shouted a bit to fiercely as Lucy looked at him in shock. "Tch! Sorry, I just hate when the word 'use' is affiliated with any of my friends." He told her.

"I see..." Lucy muttered.

"Well, let's go now!" Natsu told her as he and Happy walked toward the door.

"Ah, wait a minute! I need to get ready." Lucy told him.

"Well then hurry up! We''ll be waiting outside." He told her and the two walked out of her apartment. Lucy sighed and placed her hands on her waist.

"Those two..."

* * *

><p>"We're here!" Lucy exclaimed as she, Natsu and Happy hopped of the wagon they took and took a look at the town their mission was requested from. Natsu groaned behind her as the feeling of his motion sickness was slowly disappearing.<p>

"I'm never getting on another wagon again." He groaned.

"That's what you always say." Happy told him.

"Anyway, let's go eat!" Natsu exclaimed, craving food.

"Why don't you just eat your own fire?" Lucy asked as the two of them walked through town.

"Huh? Do you eat Plue or the bull?" Natsu answered back with his own question.

"Of course not!" Lucy shouted, appalled.

"Then it's the same with my fire." He replied.

"Is it...huh..." Lucy sweat dropped.

They eventually found a place where Natsu could stuff his mouth with food as Lucy looked over the request paper, seeing if there was anything they were missing that would be important to the mission. She didn't find anything too suspicious so she put away the paper and waited for Natsu to finish. "Don't you want something?" He asked before chomping down on a piece of meat.

"No thanks. I'm not that hungry." She told him. "Who would be with the way you two eat?'

After they finished eating, they arrived in front of the mansion of the clients and Natsu knocked on the door. "Oi, anyone there!" He called out.

"Keep your voice down!" Someone behind the door yelled at Natsu, confusing all three of them.

"Who are you?"

"Ah! We're from Fairy Tail-"

"I said lower your voice!" The voice interrupted Natsu. "I'm sorry, but can you please enter through the back door, please?"

"W-What?" Lucy asked confused.

"Whatever..." Natsu muttered and started walking around the house to the back. The three of them reached the back door and we're invited in by the client, Kirby Melon and his wife.

"I'm dearly sorry for what happened earlier." Kirby apologized. "I'm the client. My name is Kirby melon and this here is my wife."

"Hahaha! Your name sounds yummy!" Natsu laughed.

"Melon!" Happy jumped in the air in joy.

"Oi, that's rude!" Lucy scolded them as Kirby only chuckled.

"Haha, it's quite alright. I get that a lot." He told her.

"I'm sorry for their personalities." Lucy apologized. 'Although, I could have sworn I heard his name and this town's name as well somewhere...but where...?' Lucy thought. She just couldn't place a finger on it.

"It's quite alright! I would have never guessed that mages from the renowned Fairy Tail would accept my request." Kirby told them.

"Really? I'm surprised that it was still available!" Natsu laughed.

"Aye!"

'It's because the request and reward didn't match so they were being cautious.' Lucy thought at Natsu's words.

"Mind I ask your names?" Kirby asked them.

"Ah, forgive us. My name is Lucy and this is Happy..." Happy raised a paw at his introduction. "...and that's Natsu."

"Yo!" He grinned, with a wave of his hand.

"Well it is nice to meet all of you. I must say you are all quite young." Kirby told them. "Now then, let's talk about the work."

"Alright!" Natsu grinned in anticipation.

"Aye!" Happy was the same. Lucy didn't respond, but gulped seeing as this was her first job as a Fairy Tail mage.

"I only ask you of one thing, to go and incinerate a book called 'Day Break' that the Duke of Evaroo owns. That is all." He explained the request.

"Huh? So you don't want us to steal it?" Lucy asked confused.

"Well, I am asking you to destroy something that is in possession of someone else's hand so it is kind of like stealing." Kirby told her.

"Why don't we just burn the whole mansion down?" Natsu laughed.

"Don't be an idiot! You'll go to jail for that!" Lucy screamed at his stupidity.

"I'm just kidding..." He continued to laugh as Lucy sighed.

"Mind if I ask...just what is that book?" Lucy asked. "I mean if your rewarding 200,000 Jewels it must be an important book."

"Actually...I am willing to pay 2 million for it..." At this, Lucy and Happy eyes widened in shock and their jaws dropped to the floor. Natsu however, wasn't surprised.

"T-T-TWO MILLION! W-Why that much?" Lucy asked.

"Oh my, it seems you haven't heard of the price increase." He deducted from their reactions.

"Oi, you don't have that kind of money do you?" Natsu suddenly asked as Lucy and Happy looked at Natsu like he was crazy. Kirby looked at the dragon slayer with wide eyes.

"W-What?" He muttered.

"Your smell and the smell of this house are two completely different smells. If I had to guess, you are borrowing this home from a friend of yours just too look big so that people can accept your request." Natsu explained. Kirby was shocked at the boy's deduction skills. He was completely right, but how could he tell that his scent was different from the mansion's.

"T-That's incredible..." Kirby muttered.

"Huh? He's right?" Kirby nodded his head. "No way..." Lucy looked at Natsu in shock.

"I guess this means you won't accept my request then..." Kirby frowned.

"Of course we'll still do it." Natsu grinned.

"Natsu..." Lucy looked at him in surprise and smiled.

"Sure we won't get paid, but it's a perfect time for us to develop our team work." Natsu gave Lucy a toothy grin and she nodded her head.

"T-Thank you so much..." Kirby thanked as he slightly shook. His wife walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. Natsu stood up.

"Well, let's go!" He told Happy and Lucy and they nodded their head.

"Mm!"

"Aye!"

"They're good people, aren't they honey?" Kirby's wife asked him as he smiled as the door closed.

"Mm. Yes they are."

* * *

><p>"Why are we sneaking in this way?" Lucy asked as the three of them were now on the roof of the mansion.<p>

"Because it's cool." He simply replied.

"Aye!" Happy agreed as Lucy sweat dropped at their answer. Natsu then placed his hand on the glass and right before their eyes, the glass started to melt.

"Nice one, Salamander!" Lucy grinned as Natsu unlocked the window and opened it. The three of them entered and were now in what looked like a storage room. "What is this place?"

"Who knows? Nastu answered.

"Hey Natsu look!" Natsu looked down at his friend and laughed at the mask he knew he would have on.

"Hahaha! It really suits you!"

"Oi, quit fooling around! We can get out of here through this door." She pointed to the only door in the room. Natsu nodded and looked over his shoulder at the small crustal like object with a dragon on top of it before looking back at the door. "Okay, Happy, check to see if the coast is clear."

"Aye!" He saluted and opened the door slightly. He peaked his head out to look at both sides of the hallway to make sure there were no enemies in sight. "The coast is clear!" He told them and they nodded.

"Let's go, but quietly." She told them, placing a finger to her lips. The three of them leaned against the wall and slowly moved across it. They stopped by each door and took a peak inside to see if there were any books inside, but each one they passed, there wasn't. Natsu yawned in boredom.

"Ne, Lucy? Do we have to check each room like this?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

"Of course! We don't want to be seen by anyone." She retorted back at him. "Just be quiet." She shushed him and they continued to move down the hallway in the same pattern.

"Ne, Natsu? Aren't we like ninjas?" Happy asked. Natsu grinned.

"Your right! Pretty cool!" He chuckled and wrapped his scarf around his head to hide his face. Lucy sweat dropped at them as she looked through a door.

"Nothing again." She scoffed in annoyance.

"Maybe it's downstairs." Natsu told her.

"Maybe, but let's just continue looking up here for now." Lucy told him as he sighed.

"I'm telling you it's downstairs so lets go." He told her, feeling slightly annoyed.

"Shh, you too loud." Lucy shushed him once more. Natsu groaned in response.

"Your pretty stupid." Natsu commented and Lucy felt a vein pop.

"I don't need you to tell me that!" She yelled at him and she couldn't believe she just screamed out loud like that. Natsu smirked as 5 of the ugliest maids you would see in a 100km radius came out of nowhere surprising Lucy and Happy.

"Finally! Some action!" Natsu slammed a fist into his other hand.

'He baited me into screaming!' Lucy thought in shock.

"Intruders! We must eliminate them!" The large maid told the others as they charged at the three.

"Yosh!" Natsu charged right back. His right leg ignited into a flame and he kicked all five of the maids, leaving them all unconscious after his attack. Natsu felt disappointed. "Is that all? So boring." He sighed and looked back at Happy and Lucy, who was in shock at easily he was able to defeat all five of them. "I told you it's downstairs so lets go." He told her and he started walking. Happy followed right behind him and Lucy stood up and just stared at him with wide eyes. "Oi, you coming or not?"

Lucy was snapped from her trance and ran toward them. "Wait up!"

The three of them got downstairs and to Lucy's surprise, the library in which she was searching for was indeed where Natsu lead her too. "H-How did you know it was here?"

"The smell of paper." He responded. "The smell of paper came from this room and when there is paper, there is books." Lucy was just amazed at how good his sense of smell was. She figured it was due to his dragon slaying magic, but it was still amazing.

She looked around at the library and saw many books. She was amazed at the collection, but she knew it would be difficult to find one single book out of all of these. "We've found it!"

"That was fast!" Lucy gawked at them in shock.

"Hahaha, guess I'm just lucky." He chuckled mentally as well as he already knew where the book was from the beginning.

"Aye!" Happy agreed.

"R-Right..." Lucy sweat dropped.

"Alright then, let's burn it!" Natsu smirked, igniting his hand.

"Wait a minute!" Lucy cried out and took the book from Natsu's hand. "T-This author is Kemu Zaleon!"

"Who?"

"He was a mage and a writer as well." Lucy added. Her face became filled with excitement. "I'm a big fan of his! I thought I read all of his books, but I can't believe there was one I never heard of before!"

"Whatever, let's burn it!" Natsu interrupted her as she looked at him in shock and pressed the book to her chest to protect it from him.

"What are you talking about! We can't just burn literature like this one!" Lucy retorted.

"But it's our job!" Natsu angrily yelled back.

"But I'm a big fan!" Lucy yelled back.

"I don't care." Natsu said back and then his ears twitched. "Fine then, read it here and now as fast as you can. We have company." Lucy blinked at him in confusion.

"I see...so that was what you were after, byoyoyoyo!" A voice was heard as someone popped out of the floor, spinning to a stop as the person was the Duke of Evaroo. He stroked his mustache and smirked at them. "I knew if I let you do whatever you want I'll be able to find out what you were after. I'm so smart."

"Oi, Lucy." Natsu called to her as she looked at him. "I'll give you until I kick their ass to read that book. I recommend you read fast." Lucy looked at him in awe and nodded her head. She sat down, opened the book and began reading.

"Byoyoyoyo! I believe you are underestimating me, you filthy mage of Fairy Tail. It's not like I came here unprepared." He grinned and snapped his fingers. Natsu turned his head to see two book shelves begin to move as a secret entrance opened and two figures stood. "Byoyoyoyoyo! Allow me to introduce to you, the Vanish Brothers!"

"It's finally time for our business." The figure on the right said.

"If we get paid without actually doing any work, Mama will get mad at us." The other figure spoke.

The two figures walked out of the secret entrance and revealed themselves to Natsu. "Good afternoon!" The bald headed brother greeted Natsu.

"These are the mages of Fairy Tail, they don't seem so strong." The other brother said. "Mama would be surprised too." He made a side comment.

"Natsu look!" Happy exclaimed. "Look at the cloth on their arms! They are from that mercenary guild called the Southern Wolves!"

"Hehe, like I care who they are with." He smirked, pounding his fist into his free hand. "Let's just hope these two do better than those maids."

"What a joke." The bald one said. "It seems he is underestimating us."

"Mama would be so angry at him! We need to show him some manners."

"Right let us g-" The bald one started, but was shocked when Natsu appeared right in front of him, giving him a wide toothy grin and grabbed both brother's heads and then slammed them together. The brother's bot spat out blood and saliva at the sudden attack and collapsed to the floor. The Duke of Evaroo's eyes widened and jaw dropped at how easily the two men he hired were defeated. Natsu looked down at them and grabbed their heads again and buried them into the floor so that they wouldn't interrupt him kicking the fat guy's ass.

"Now then, you're next!" Natsu smirked.

"W-Wait a minute...a-alright I get it, you can take the book and..." Natsu started to crack his knuckles while walking toward the Duke of Evaroo.

"Natsu! Behind you!" Happy shouted as the Vanish brothers appeared behind him. Natsu turned his head to look back at them and frowned.

"Take this you brat!" The bald one shouted as he swung a large frying pan at Natsu.

"Mama will get angry at us if we lose, so we can't lose!" The other swung a fist.

Natsu sighed. "Too slow..." He said and raised both his hands to block their attacks easily. The two brother's eyes popped out of their eye sockets at how easy he was able to block their attacks.

"Y-You got to be kidding me! What kind of mage are you!" The bald one asked.

"What kind?" Natsu spoke and then grinned. "I'm a mage of Fairy Tail!" He ignited both his arms and pulled the two of the toward each other. When they got close, he delivered two strong punches tot he side of their heads, sending them crashing into two book shelves. "Haha, I win." He smirked. "Now then..." He turned his head toward the where the Duke of Evaroo stood, but he was no longer there. "Crap! I let him get away!"

"Natsu..." Natsu turned around to look at Lucy.

"W-What is it?" He asked.

"This book...we can't burn it...we have to give it back to Kirby-san." She told him as she took off her Wind Reading Glasses. He blinked at her before smiling.

"Alright then." He told her.

She smiled at him. "Well then, let's go back. I mean we got the book so we don't have to stay here any longer." She told him.

"Not yet." He told her.

"Huh? Why not?" She asked confused.

"That guy...he had one of those keys..." He told her.

"Huh?" She looked at him before her face glowed with excitement. "R-Really!" Natsu laughed at her reaction.

"Yep!" He nodded. "Let's go then!"

"Mm."

* * *

><p>"Damn those two idiots! I pay them good money and they lose so easily!" The Duke of Evaroo growled in anger as he started to pack his things to get out of his mansion for a while. The door to his room opened and his eyes widened in horror as he turned his head toward the door and saw Natsu, Happy and Lucy there. "W-Why are you here! I told you you could have the book!"<p>

"Sorry, but we're here for something else!" Natsu smirked.

"Huh?" The Duke blinked at them confused.

"That key that you have..." Natsu pointed toward his pocket.

"Why would you want my Stellar key?" He asked.

"So you do have one!" Lucy exclaimed. "We'll be taking it from you now!"

"Why the hell would I give it to you criminals!" He yelled at them.

"Oh? Such a pity! I guess you would have to end up just like your two body guards back in your library." Lucy teased him as she placed a hand on Natsu's shoulder. Natsu smirked as he ignited one of his hands in flame.

"Waaaaahhhhhh!" He screamed in horror as tears ran down his eyes. He went to grab his Stellar Key and tossed it to them. "Here just take it! Leave me alone!" He got into a fetal position as Lucy picked up the key and smiled.

"Arigatou!" She thanked him with a wink and the three left, leaving a crying Duke in his room.

* * *

><p>"Oi, Melon guy! We're back!" Natsu yelled as he opened the door. Kirby looked toward the door and stood up,<p>

"Did you...?" He asked, hoping they did.

"Well not exactly..." Lucy muttered as she showed him the book and his eyes widened.

"W-Why? I told you to burn it!" He yelled at them.

"I know that, but you have to listen to me! This book..." Lucy tried to explain. Kirby however, didn't care for her explanation and grabbed the book and reached into his pocket for a lighter. "Wait a minute!"

"You should listen to her Melon." Natsu told him as he crossed his arms. You should at least listen to what others have to say before you make a decision." He told him as Lucy sweat dropped.

'Says the guy who does anything he wants...' Lucy looked back at the man and gave him pleading eyes. "Please, Kirby-san...that book...that book was written by your father...right?" Kirby hesitated a bit before nodding.

"Yes, yes it was. My father...he was forced to write books for that man and because of it, he decided to give up on writing and it eventually lead him to his death. That is why, I have to get rid of this book." He told her, lighting his lighter again and pointing it toward the book. The book suddenly shined a bright light and the words on the cover began rearranging themselves from 'Day Break' to 'Dear Kaby'. "W-What is this?"

"Your father...cast a spell on that book. He did it so that the real contents of the book wouldn't be seen by anyone else but you. Everything in that book were letters written to you by your father." Lucy told him as the book opened and the letters all began floating around them. Natsu and Happy were amazed by this as they playfully tried to touch the letters. "The real reason why your father quit being a writer was not because he wrote the worst book, but because he also wrote the best book. This book was everything your father wanted to tell you..." The letters all returned to the book and Kirby opened it, to see that the text was indeed different. "_You were always on my mind..._That is what your father truly wanted to leave behind." Lucy smiled and Natsu grinned at the tears Kirby was releasing.

"Dad...I never really understood him..." Kirby cried.

Lucy smiled. "Of course! If you understand how a writer's mind works, you'll lose the pleasure in reading a book!"

Natsu and Happy chuckled as Kirby hugged the book closer to his chest. "T-Thank you...I won't burn this book after all..."

"Alright then, now that's all settled we should head back to Fairy Tail!" Natsu grinned.

"Aye!" Happy agreed.

"Huh? What about the re-" Lucy was about to ask when she remembered that Kirby was only borrowing his friend's mansion. She frowned disappointingly before nodding her head. "Alright! Let's head back!" Natsu nodded and the three waved goodbye to Kirby and his wife.

"I think we should have told them we did have two million Jewels to give to them." Kirby's wife said.

"Haha, something tells me even if we did they wouldn't accept it." Kirby laughed.

"Yeah, your probably right."

**To Be Continued...**

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong> Well, I hope you guys liked the chapter. There is not much to say at all, cause I'm tired and I have school tomorrow. Ah the college life! Ah well, until the next chapter! Later!


	5. Natsu, Gray And Erza

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related which includes the characters of Fairy Tail.

**Rated M for future lemons! You have been warned!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5: Natsu, Gray And Erza<strong>

"Hmm, so many requests. I wonder which one I should take?" Lucy pondered her question as she looked up at the request board. There were so many requests that she couldn't just choose one. Some had rewards that went all the way up to 300,000 Jewels, but she knew such requests were going to be too hard for her to take on alone. However, she was part of a team now, so she could take on such a high reward request. Smiling, she turned around to see if Natsu was anywhere around the guild. However, she saw many of the guild members with confused expressions on their face. Even Mirajane had one as well. She looked in the same direction they all looked toward and her eyes widened.

Natsu and Happy were both sitting on one of the tables, their legs crossed and their knuckles/paws were touching against each other. He had his eyes closed and the only sign of him actually being alive was the movement of his chest. She blinked at the two before walking over to Mirajane. "Ne, Mira-san, what is Natsu and Happy doing?"

Mirajane looked at her and shook her head. "I'm not sure, but I think they are meditating." She answered.

"Meditating?" Lucy repeated, looking over at the two. "I never thought that he would be one to do such a thing."

"Normally you would be right." Mirajane told her. Lucy looked at the older woman. "I don't know what happened to Natsu during the two years he has been gone, but I could see a lot has changed about him and Happy too."

"Really?"

"I mean they still act somewhat the same being two goofballs and all, but it doesn't feel like they are the same at all." Mirajane explained. "But, even though they aren't the same as before, the new them seem more mature and stronger."

Lucy looked back to Natsu and Happy and they remained in the same position they were in. What Mirajane said was sort of true from the short time she knew him. Yes, both of them were the idiotic duo, but there was this strong mature aura emitting from the both of them. From what she could tell from the moments the others told her about, the two were like whole new different people.

"Oi Natsu!" Lucy turned her head toward Gray. "What the hell are you doing!" He shouted at him and marched over. He got no response from Natsu. This pissed off Gray. "Oi! I'm talking to you!" He reached forward to place his hand on his shoulder. When he an inch away from making contact, he quickly pulled his hand away and began shaking it. "What the hell! It burns!" Gray screamed from the slight burn he received. Natsu continued to stay silent. Gray was feeling annoyed. He then made a hand sign and ice started to cover both his hands. Lucy stared in shock at his magic.

"He uses ice magic." Lucy asked in surprise. Mirajane nodded.

"Mm. Some say that is the reason why he and Natsu always fight with each other." Lucy blinked at her before understanding.

"Oh, I get it. It's because Natsu uses fire and Gray uses Ice, they use elements that are the exact opposite of each other." Mirajane nodded again.

"Alright then, let's see you try to to melt this." Gray smirked confidently. He moved his frozen hands toward Natsu. Natsu still didn't move. Gray's plan made it's way toward Natsu's shoulder, but the heat that Natsu emitted from his entire body melted the ice away from Gray's hands and burning him once more. "What the hell!" Gray yelled in shock and anger as he waved both his hands and tried to cool them down, blowing on them using his icy type breath.

"Wow Gray! Your getting your ass kicked without Natsu even moving." Cana chuckled.

"Shut up!" Gray fired back at the insult.

"Gray your clothes..." Elfman told him as Gray looked down and his eyes popped out of his head.

"Not again!" Gray screamed, running toward the back in search of new clothing.

Lucy sweat dropped at Gray's antics before frowning at Natsu. She decided to at least try to get some sort of movement from him. "Natsu...what are you doing?" She asked, but Natsu didn't respond. Lucy pouted and put her hands on her waist. "Natsu..." She called his name with a little more force. He still didn't respond. She sighed and gave up. She knew from what see saw happen to Gray that if she got near him, she'll probably get burned as well. She looked over at Happy and decided to try talking to him. "Happy..." She called out to the feline, but she didn't get a response from him either. Her frown deepened. She was getting annoyed. "Happy!"

"I swear it wasn't me who took the fish out of the kitchen!" Happy blabbered out in surprise. He blinked and looked up at Lucy. "Oh, hi Lucy!"

"Hi, what are you guys doing?" Happy looked at her and then at Natsu next to him, who wasn't fazed by Lucy's yelling. He then looked at Lucy with a blank expression.

"I was sleeping." Lucy and the others all dropped to the floor in shock, thinking he was going to say something more mature, but they shouldn't have expected much. Lucy was the first to recover as she struggled to get back up.

"R-Right...what about Natsu?" She pointed at him.

"Oh? He's thinking." Several spit takes were heard throughout the guild and shocked expressions were plastered on everyone's face.

"Oi, your kidding right?"

"Natsu thinking? Who ever thought that was possible?"

"That's because it is impossible, this is Natsu we are talking about."

"But Happy wouldn't lie would he?"

"Yeah he would..."

"I'm still here." Happy told them, his ears drooping in sadness. "He's not just thinking though, he's also building up his magic."

"Huh? Why?" Lucy asked.

"I don't know. He usually only does this when he's about to fight someone strong." Happy answered.

Lucy blinked at them in confusion. "Someone strong? Like from a request or something?"

"I don't think so. I didn't see him pick out a request." Happy shook his head.

"Alright, I'm back!" Gray announced, walking toward Lucy.

"Ah! Gray? Where did you go!" Happy asked, waving his tail back and forth.

"Happy?" He looked over at Natsu. "Why are you not doing what Natsu is?"

"Huh? I was copying Natsu? I was just sleeping." Happy answered innocently.

"Huh!" Gray was shocked.

"Apparently, Happy was just sleeping and didn't know that he was copying what Natsu is doing." Lucy told Gray.

"And what is Natsu doing?"

"Thinking."

"No, seriously."

"I am."

"...NANI!" Gray shouted in total shock.

"I know...sure is shocking." Lucy sweat dropped at his reaction.

"You do know he can still hear everything your saying right." Happy told them.

"Your kidding, right?" Lucy asked, chuckling nervously.

"Nope." Lucy began sweating nervously. She looked at the pink haired dragon slayer, who was still in the same meditating pose and she bowed.

"Sorry..." Natsu didn't do anything which only made her more nervous.

"Don't apologize to him." Lucy lifted her head to see Loke walking toward her. "He's nothing but an idiot. I heard you did pretty well on your last job so how about you and me making a love team. What do you say?" Lucy sweat dropped.

"N-No thanks, I already have a perverted stellar spirit and I don't need another pervert, especially one who is not a spirit." She told him. She looked over at Loke and he had a nervous expression on his face. "W-What?"

"Y-Your a Stellar Spirit Mage?" He asked pointing at her. Lucy nodded. "Y-you know what never mind about that whole pairing up to make a team. In fact, I have something to do at the moment so bye!" He ran off and out of the guild as Lucy looked at his retreating back in confusion.

"Hey, Natsu..." Lucy turned around to see Gray with a sinister look on his face. "...your weak!" Lucy flinched in fear for the ice mage. "Your a pathetic mage that can't do anything for himself." He continued and chuckled. "You smell like shit." Lucy was amazed at how calm Natsu still was, despite all these remarks Gray was piling on him. In fact, Natsu didn't even move.

"Natsu! Gray!" Loke yelled as he charged into the guild, panting.

"What is it?" Gray asked, slightly annoyed that he was interrupted at making fun of Natsu.

"Erza! She's back!" Lucy blinked at the news, not seeing what was so bad about a fellow Fairy Tail member returning. That was until she saw Gray's reaction and looked at him nervously.

"Crap!" Gray screamed in fear, roughing up his hair with his hands. "Oi, Natsu! Wake up! Erza is back! If she sees you, she'll kick your ass so bad for leaving the guild!"

"Wow Gray! Who knew you cared about Natsu this much." Mirajane smiled.

"Huh? Like I care about this asshole. If Natsu doesn't wake up then she'll hurt me as well just to get out her frustration!" Gray told her as Mirajane sweat dropped.

"I-I see..."

The bat wings door to the guild swung open and a red haired beauty entered the guild, carrying a large, decorated horn like thing. Lucy looked at her in amazement, while the others looked at her with the opposite reaction. 'She's here...'

"I'm back." Erza Scarlet announced, placing the horn down on the floor with a slight thud. She then turned to Mirajane. "Is the Master here?" She asked.

"No...he's attending the regular meeting." Mirajane answered.

"I see..." Erza sighed in disappointment.

"But Erza guess what!" Erza raised an eyebrow at Mirajane. "You won't believe who's back."

"Hmm? Who? Laxus? Gildarts?" Erza asked. Mirajane shook her head.

"Nope!" Mirajane smiled widely. "I'll give you a hint! It's someone who was gone for two years." Erza raised an eyebrow before she realized who the former Demon was talking about. Her eyes widened.

"Your lying..." Erza said in disbelief. Mirajane shook her head and moved to the right a bit to reveal the pink haired dragon slayer, still in the same position on the desk. Erza couldn't believe that she was actually looking at Natsu. She hadn't seen him in two years and right when she left to do a job, Natsu returned to the guild. She missed him. She wouldn't admit out loud, but she did truly miss him. The guild actually felt a bit quiet and lonely without his rumbustious and crazy happy like attitude around. She started walking toward him. The atmosphere around the guild felt really tense. Erza finally stopped in front of Natsu and looked at him. He still didn't move. "Natsu..." She whispered his name. He didn't respond to her.

"Ummm...Erza...he's..." Gray tried to explain, but she gave him one look and shut his mouth immediately.

She looked back to Natsu. "Natsu..." She tried again, this time a bit louder. Still nothing. Erza started to get annoyed. "Natsu..." She growled. Nothing. "Tch!" Erza scoffed and frowned at him. She clenched her fist. "Find then...if you don't want to say anything then so be it." There was a pause. "I'll just knock your head around a bit for ignoring me." Lucy flinched in surprise.

'S-She's scary...'

Erza tightened her fist and threw her fist at him.

"Hold on a minute, Erza!" Mirajane called out to her, but it was too late. Erza couldn't stop her fist. Many of them thought that the fist would connect straight at Natsu's face, perhaps breaking a few bones in the process. However, none of them would have expected Natsu to raised his arm up and block Erza's fist with the palm of his hand. Erza's eyes widened. She was stunned. She couldn't believe Natsu blocked her attack so easily. Was this the same Natsu who challenged her once and got beaten so easily?

Natsu opened his eyes and made eye contact with Erza. He then grinned. "Yo! You're back, Erza?" He chuckled at her shocked expression. Erza was stunned. She lowered her arm and regained her composure.

"Mm. I'm back." She responded. The others watched the two nervously, wondering what was going to happen next between them. "How about you? When did you return?"

"A couple of days ago." Natsu replied, standing up. He hopped off the table and onto the floor next to Erza. "So, what's up?" Erza eyed him before smiling. Unexpectedly, she threw another punch at Natsu and he blocked it again. "W-Wait, what are you doing!" Natsu asked in surprise. Erza didn't answer and she continued throwing punches at him. He was bale to block each punch successfully, but why was she punching him. Did he do something wrong? No, he didn't do anything that bad that would cause her to do this. Then again, he wondered if she always punched him because she just wanted to.

They repeated the same movements as they traveled around the guild. Those who were in the way were either punched by one of Erza's wild swings or ran away from their path. Erza then stopped. Natsu hoped she was finished as he felt his hands get a little worn out from all the punches, but unfortunately for him, he was wrong. Instead of a punch, Erza tried a kick. Natsu was surprised by this and blocked it just barely. However, the kick was only distraction as Erza tried to uppercut him in the jaw and Natsu leaned his head back. Erza groaned at the fact that she missed. "Tch!" She scoffed and went back to throwing punches.

"Erza...stop this already..." Mirajane cried out. Erza didn't stop.

"You bastard..." Erza suddenly said and Natsu saw something that surprised him. He didn't know exactly what it was, but it did give him a hint as to why she was doing this. He frowned. As Erza threw a punch, he weaved his head to the side, grabbed her wrist and to her shock, pulled her toward him in a hug. Erza didn't know what to say or do at the sudden hug. The other guild members looked in shock as well as they thought Natsu was either crazy or stupid, or even both.

"I'm sorry..." Erza made a noise in surprise at his apology.

"W-What?" Erza asked.

"I'm sorry for leaving for two years without telling you or anyone else. It's just that...I had to leave..." He told her. Erza frowned and closed her eyes.

"Fine...I accept your apology...you idiot." She told him and secretly smiled. Natsu pulled away from Erza and grinned at her.

"We should catch up later today." He told her and she nodded her head.

"Yeah, that would be nice." Natsu nodded.

"So, what's going?" He asked. Erza turned away from Natsu and toward Gray. He blinked in confusion as she looked at him.

"W-What?" He asked nervously.

"Well, I did have a favor to ask of you, but now that Natsu is here, I can ask both of you." She replied, looking back at Natsu.

"Oh? What kind of favor?" Natsu asked, despite knowing what it was.

"I heard some troubling news while I was at work. Usually I would consult Master about this, but it's quite urgent." She told them. "That's why I need your help. You will come with me, right?"

"EH!" Gray gawked in shock.

"Sure! Why not!" Natsu grinned, surprising both her and Gray. Erza was surprised that he wasn't making it such a big deal to work with her or Gray. Normally, he would cringe in fear at the thought of helping her or being around Gray, but he wasn't like that.

'It couldn't be...' Erza thought. '...could it be that he got more mature in the past two years? T-That's almost impossible.'

"W-What's going on? Why would Erza want to team up with Natsu and Gray? She never teamed up before." The guild began chatting amongst themselves.

"What could this job be?"

"Why is Natsu happy at the fact that he is teaming up with Erza and Gray?"

"Who is he and what happened to the real Natsu?"

Erza ignored the comments made by the other guild members and turned around to walk out of the guild. "We'll leave tomorrow. Make sure the two of you prepare yourself."

"Oi, wait a minute...I never said that I would go with yo-" Gray started, but she gave him one glare and he nervously nodded his head. "H-Hai..."

Erza smiled in satisfaction and left the guild. Lucy saw the exchange with interest and awe. She looked over at Mirajane and saw her shake. "Mira-san, what's wrong?"

"N-Nothing...it's just that...I never thought of this before, but Natsu, Gray and Erza together...it's possible that they are Fairy Tail's strongest team ever created." Lucy's eyes widened at this and looked over at the exit. She frowned and then looked back at Gray and Natsu. Natsu was grinning stupidly, while Gray was muttering to himself.

"Damn this...it's already annoying that you returned and now that I have to go on a job with both you and Erza..."

"And me!" Happy exclaimed.

"...is just impossible!"

"Oh?" Natsu smirked as he hid his eyes behind his pink hair. "I'm sorry that a pathetic mage like myself has to team up with you. I mean a weak mage who smells like shit would sound annoying wouldn't it." Gray cringe slightly as he repeated the insults he told him while he was meditating. "I can see why it would be impossible." Natsu then grinned. "Yeah right! Ya JACKASS!" Natsu shouted and started a fight with Gray. The both of them started a fight that made Lucy and the others sweat drop at their idiotic selves.

The sound of the door swinging back and forth was heard and Erza entered the guild again. "Oh...I almost forgot..." She looked up and saw both Gray and Natsu fighting again.

"Uh-oh...they're dead..." Happy exclaimed nervously.

"Eh?" Lucy questioned.

Erza gritted her teeth in anger. 'Mature...yeah right...' She walked toward them and it wasn't until she got close enough to the brawling duo that they noticed her and panicked. "Can't you two...GET ALONG!" She shouted and began pummeling them.

Lucy cringed at the sight of Erza Scarlet destroying the two mages like toothpicks. 'She's really scary...'

* * *

><p>"So, what were you up to in the last two years?" Erza asked as she and Natsu sat on the bar seats in front of the bar. Mirajane cleaning glasses in front of them as she joined in their conversation.<p>

"Looking for Igneel." He lied. He hated lying to either of them, but Makarov told him that he told them that he was looking for his father. Besides, there was no way she could tell them that he was from the future. Zeref warned him after all.

"For two years?" Erza questioned.

"Well, when I heard about the rumor, me and Happy went to see if it was true. However, then there was another rumor, then another and the next thing I knew, two years have gone by." Natsu told them.

"But you should have at least stopped by." Mirajane said, frowning.

"I tried, believe me I did." He lied again. He hated lying to his friends. However, it was for their safety. He needed to protect them. If he didn't then, everything he worked hard for would be meaningless. He went to train to protect them and there was no way that he was going to see those same horrible images of them dying because he was too weak again. "But each rumor made me go farther and farther away from the guild."

"I see. So, what happened?" Erza asked. "Were any of the rumors true?"

"No..." Natsu frowned. Granted he was training for two years, but he still wished that he could find Igneel along the way. Alas, it didn't happen. "But...I'm sure I'll find him someday." Erza and Mirajane smiled warmly at the dragon slayer. They both knew very well what Natsu was feeling. "What about you two?"

"Well, I became an S-Class Mage." Erza told him as Natsu faked his surprised reaction.

"R-Really! Damn it! I'm falling behind!" Natsu groaned.

"I'm sure you'll become an S-Class Mage soon, Natsu." Mirajane smiled at him. Natsu grinned back.

"Mm. Arigatou, Mira-chan." Mirajane didn't know why, but she had this weird feeling in the pit of her stomach at the grin Natsu was showing her. It only intensified when he thanked her. She didn't know what this feeling was, but she did find it somewhat familiar.

"But I am impressed with you, Natsu." Erza spoke and he looked at her.

"Huh? Why?" He asked confused.

"You seem to have gotten a lot stronger. If I recall correctly, the first time you challenged me to a fight, I pummeled you." Natsu pouted at her as she showed him a confident smirk.

"I was a child back then." He defended himself.

"Oh, and you are what now? An adult?" Erza mocked.

"Hell no! Being an adult is stupid. I rather just be myself." He answered, still pouting. Erza smiled at him. She knew someone around Natsu's age should become more mature and act like a proper adult, but it just didn't fit him. She was glad. She really didn't want Natsu to change.

"I see." Erza spoke softly.

"You say something?" Natsu asked, hearing her say something due to his developed hearing, but it was still to low for him to hear. Erza shook her head.

"It's nothing." She picked up her drink that Mirajane prepared for her and took a sip. Natsu stared at her. The image of her body covered in a pool of blood entered his mind and he suddenly dug his fingers into the wood of the bar. Erza stopped drinking and both she and Mirajane looked at Natsu in surprise and confusion. Natsu had his head lowered, his eyes hiding in the shadows produced by his hair. "Natsu, what's wrong?"

When he heard her, he raised his hand and lifted his head. He grinned at her. "It's nothing."

"Stop lying, what's wrong?" Erza demanded an answer and Natsu knew very well what not answering her truthfully was going to get him. However, he couldn't tell her. He had to think of something else.

"I said it's nothing, Erza. I'm just mad that I...I'm not an S-Class Mage yet." He gave her an excuse and Natsu hoped both she and Mirajane bought it. He was relieved when they did.

"It's nothing to worry about Natsu. I'm sure one day you'll be able to." Erza reassured him.

"Erza's right, Natsu. I'm sure you'll become one too." Mirajane added.

"Arigatou. Really..." He whispered the last part and it didn't seem like the both of them heard him as Erza and Mirajane talked to one another. He was going to protect the both of them. He was going to protect everyone. Even if it meant he had to take his own life to do it.

* * *

><p><strong>Magnolia Station<strong>

"Why the hell does Erza need our help?" Gray asked as Natsu yawned.

"We'll find out." Natsu answered. "So shut up and wait."

"Aye!" Happy agreed with Natsu.

"What did you say! Why the hell does Erza need your help anyway? I am more than enough to handle this." Gray argued back.

"Big talk for someone who makes girly ice sculptures." Natsu mocked.

"What was that you asshole!" Gray gritted his teeth.

"You heard me!" Natsu yelled as the two rammed their foreheads together and growled at each other.

"WOULD YOU TWO JUST CUT IT OUT!" Lucy screamed in annoyance as they stopped and she sighed. "Seriously, why can't you two just get along like everybody else does."

"But this is how everybody else does it at Fairy Tail." Natsu told her as Happy and Gray agreed with Natsu. Lucy sweat dropped.

"R-Right..."

"By the way, why are you here?" Gray asked.

"It's because Mira-san asked me too. She was worried that because the three of you don't get along I need to be the mediator for the three of you." Lucy explained.

"But you really wanted to come along didn't you?" Happy said.

"No way!" Lucy retorted. "Wait a minute." Lucy had a thought. "Why do I have to be the mediator for these three? Why couldn't it be you. Wait a minute, don't tell me Mira-san forgot about you." Lucy snickered.

"Probably not, I normally let them do what they want." Happy told her.

"What the hell!" Lucy screamed in disbelief.

"You smell." Lucy flinched as the two idiots started insulting each other again.

"Says the idiot who doesn't bathe." Gray countered.

"What was that!" Natsu gritted his teeth.

'This is so troublesome...' Lucy sighed. She then had an idea. She grinned. "Oh, Erza! We're over here!"

Gray froze in fear while Natsu didn't. "Please, your just trying to trick us." He accused Lucy.

"Who's trying to trick who, Natsu?" Natsu began sweating and shaking in fear as he heard the voice of the Scarlet Knight behind him.

"N-Nothing...Erza..." He stuttered as she placed a hand on his shoulder and clenched it tightly. Natsu refused to show signs that she was hurting her and held in his voice.

"Okay then." Erza let go of his shoulder and he sighed in relief. "I'm sorry I made you wait." She told them as she dragged a large cart full of luggage. Lucy gawked at how much luggage she had. It was then that Erza saw Lucy.

"Oh? You were in the guild yesterday." Erza said as Lucy bowed her head.

"H-Hai...my name is Lucy. I am new to Fairy Tail and was asked by Mira-san to accompany you on this job." Lucy told her. Erza smiled.

"I see. Nice to meet you Lucy. My name is Erza." Erza leaned forward. "So, you are the person everyone has been talking about back in the guild. I heard you were able to defeat a mercenary gorilla. I'm impressed." Lucy sweat dropped.

"That was all Natsu." She pouted. "I think the others are exaggerating too much."

Erza smiled. "This job might be a too risky for someone new like you, but seeing how well you did on your last job I think you'll be fine."

"Eh! Risky!" Lucy cringed in fear.

"Say Erza." The red haired Knight looked over at Natsu. "When we finish this job, I want to fight you." Erza smirked.

"Oh?" Gray placed a hand Natsu head and tried to lower it.

"Are you an idiot! Don;t say something like that! I mean if it's for Erza then I would do it for free." He grinned at her.

"Kiss up..." Natsu muttered as Gray tightened his hold on Natsu's head.

"I'm saving your life so appreciate it." Gray whispered, keeping a crooked smile on.

'Like I need you to save me...' Natsu thought.

"I see. Well, you have grown since the last time we fought, so why not. It would be a pleasure to kick your ass again." Erza smirked.

'We'll see about that...' Natsu grinned.

"What about you, Gray? Do you want to fight me too?" She asked him and he quickly shook his head.

"Yosh! I'm fired up!" He literally meant it as his face erupted into flames. "Let's do this!"

* * *

><p>"Ugh..." Natsu groaned, taking in deep breaths.<p>

"You're so hopeless, Natsu..." Gray sighed. "Go sit somewhere else you idiot!" Gray tried to push him off. Natsu groaned as his motion sickness worsened. "Hell, if you don't like trains this much then follow the train on foot!"

Lucy sweat dropped. "I know it happens all the time, but it still looks painful." Lucy felt nauseous.

Erza sighed. "I guess there's no choice then." She patted the seat next to her. "Come sit here, Natsu." Natsu looked at her and he knew very well what she was going to do to him. However, it did kind of helped him settle his stomach. He sat next to Erza. She smiled warmly at him before karate chopping at his stomach. Natsu groaned in pain, along with his motion sickness and his head landed on Erza's lap. Gray, Happy and Lucy gawked at what she did to poor Natsu. "That should ease him a little." She said and placed a hand in his hair and began soothing him.

"So, what kind of magic do you use, Erza-san?" Lucy asked.

"Please, call me Erza." Erza replied.

"Erza's magic is beautiful!" Happy told Lucy as he waved his paws up and down in excitement. "It usually ends up with blood being splattered! Mostly her opponent's blood." Lucy sweat dropped.

"How is that beautiful?" Lucy questioned.

"It's not much." Erza told her. 'But I think Gray's magic is more beautiful." Gray opened an eye at her compliment.

"That's right, you use ice magic, right?" Lucy exclaimed. He nodded and pounded a fist onto his palm and Lucy watched in awe as the solid form of Fairy Tail's mark appeared on his hand. "Wow! That's pretty!"

"Told you." Erza said with a knowing smile as she looked down at Natsu.

"See...he does...ugh..make girly sculptures..." Natsu managed to say as Gray closed his hand into a fist, shattering the magic he performed.

"What was that!" Gray growled at him.

"Settle down, Gray. You too, Natsu." Erza said, pulling on Natsu's ear. Natsu screamed in pain and then groaned as his motion sickness got worse.

"So, what is this job?" Lucy asked, curiously.

"Right...let me explain. While I was on last job, I stopped by a bar and overheard a group of hoodlums talking. I don't know what they were talking about exactly, but I did overhear a name." Erza explained.

"A name? Who?" Gray raised an eyebrow.

"Eligor." Erza said, staring at them seriously.

"Eligor?" Lucy asked, never hearing about him.

"The Ace Mage of the Magic Guild, Eisenwald, Shinigami Eligor." She answered.

"S-Shinigami..." Happy and Lucy repeated with a bit of fear in their voice. Erza nodded.

"It's a name that was given to him because he always took on Assassination jobs. The Magic Council prohibits mages to take on such jobs, but Eligor chose money instead." Erza explained as the train came to a stop.

Erza, Gray, Lucy and Happy all got off board and waited for Erza to get their belongings. "Anyway, because of that, the guild was ousted by the Council and now it is categorized as a Dark Guild."

"A D-D-Dark Guild!" Lucy stuttered in fear.

"Lucy, you making juice." Happy told her.

"It's sweat!" She yelled back. She then turned to Erza. "But wait, if the guild is ousted than didn't they get punished?"

"Their Master was arrested and the members were ordered to disband, but it appears that some didn't take the news too their liking. Even so, Dark Guilds usually work under the rule that there are no rules for them to follow. It was my fault." Erza lowered her head in shame. "If only I remembered the name Eligor, then I would have put them all in a blood offering!" Erza growled and glared in front of her. Lucy felt the death aura that she emitted and screamed slightly in fear.

"You are right. If it was just a few of them, you could handle this job on your own, but an entire guild. I see why you need our help." Gray concluded. Erza nodded.

"They also seemed to have gotten their hands on a magic called 'Lullaby'. I don't what it is exactly, but we can't overlook this matter." Erza told them as they nodded. "Here is the plan...we march into Eisenwald!"

"Huh!" Lucy screamed in surprise.

"Oh? Sounds interesting." Gray smirked.

"I probably should have stayed behind." Lucy muttered.

"Ah! Your making juice again, Lucy." Happy exclaimed.

"It's sweat damn it!" Lucy yelled back.

"Erza? Do you know where this Dark Guild is?" Gray asked.

"Not yet. That's why were are in this town." Erza answered.

"Umm...guys..." The two stopped walking and turned around to look at the blond haired stellar spirit mage.

"What is it?" They both asked.

"Natsu...he's not here..."

"Eh?"

* * *

><p>"Ugh..." Natsu groaned as he clutched his stomach in pain. He knew he should have gotten off with the others, but then meeting that man wouldn't have happened. If it was in order to keep the time line in check, he had to handle the motion sickness, no matter how much he hated it.<p>

"Umm...excuse me sir? Is this seat taken?" Natsu looked up slightly and saw that man that he was expecting.

'Got ya!' He felt like grinning, but instead, he groaned.

"My, your a mage of Fairy Tail..." The man said. "Your really lucky, you know that." He smiled at him.

'Damn that smile is creeping me out...I can't wait to kick this guy's ass.'

**To Be Continued...**

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong> I have some good news, mostly good for me. Don;t know exactly how it would bold for you, but I'm going to comic con next week and guess who's going to be there! Hiro Mashima! The man who created Fairy Tail! Yes! Hopefully I can get his autograph! And a picture. Oh please let me get either one or both! Anyway...I hoped you liked this chapter! See ya next time!


	6. Natsu's Team VS Eisenwald

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related which includes the characters of Fairy Tail.

**Rated M for future lemons! You have been warned!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6: Natsu's Team VS Eisenwald<strong>

"I can't believe this." Erza muttered. "All because I was talking nonstop that I forgot about Natsu." She then turned to Lucy. "Please hit me!"

"That's going a little too far!" Lucy screamed at her.

"Tch!"

"Don't tch in response!" Lucy screamed again. "Why don't you just calm down and think this through."

Erza ignored her. "He can't even handle transportation. This is just so unlike me."

"She's ignoring me..."

"Aye!"

"Just ask the train employee to stop the train." Erza nodded and the four of them went back to the train station and searched for the control room. Once they found it, Erza explained the situation to the employee.

"...and that's why you need to stop the train." The employee sweat dropped at the acting she did.

"W-What?" He asked confused.

"Is everyone from Fairy Tail like this?" She asked Gray.

"What are you talking about? I'm normal." He replied.

"Aye me too!" Happy agreed as Lucy sweat dropped at the two.

"How can an exhibitionist be normal...and your definitely not normal." She said the last part toward Happy.

"So, please! This is for our nakama, you have to understand!" Erza finished.

"Are you insane!" The employee shouted at Erza. "We can't just stop the train because one person didn't get off!" Erza bit her bottom lip in frustration. It was then that she noticed a switch behind the employee with the words, 'Emergency Stop' written underneath it.

"Happy!" The blue flying cat looked at Erza. He looked behind the employee and saw the switch and his mouth turned into a huge grin. He flew toward the switch, flying over the employee's head.

"Ah! W-Wait!" The employee said as Happy pushed the switch down. An alarm was heard throughout the train station, alerting all those who were at the station.

"Huh? What happened?"

"An accident?"

"Alright, let's go!" Erza told the three and they nodded their heads. She then turned to two random strangers that were walking by. "Can you please take these to Hotel Chili?"

"Who are you?" They asked, confused by her sudden request.

"It's...become such a mess..." Lucy sighed.

"Indeed..." Gray agreed and she looked over to him to see that he didn't have his clothes on.

"Your outfit! How! W-When!" Lucy asked in shock.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, the train that Natsu was on continued to make it's way toward it's destination. Natsu groaned in pain from his motion sickness. The man who sat in front of him continued to talk to him. "Speaking of Fairy Tail...Mirajane's famous, isn't she? She's in magazines sometimes, right? She's also beautiful."<p>

'God, why do I have to listen to this pervert?' Natsu thought getting annoyed.

"I wonder why she's not active anymore. She's still young." He continued.

'Can this train please stop so I can punch the shit out this guy!' Natsu groaned.

"I also hear you guys have another beautiful girl join your guild recently. I wonder her name is. Do you know her?" Natsu let out another groan as he clutched his stomach to prevent himself from throwing up. The man paused and Natsu hoped he was done talking, but he forgot that there was more. "I envy your guild. There are so many beautiful girls. My guild doesn't have many girls like yours." He then looked at Natsu with a freaky smile that pissed Natsu off. "Would you please share some? I promise that myself and my fellow guild members would treat them nicely."

'W-Wait a minute...if I remember correctly, wasn't he supposed to kick me? What the hell is with that disgusting smirk on his face?' Natsu felt confused.

"I'm sure we'll use them very nicely." Natsu's widened. "If we can, we'll like to take that hotty Mirajane off from you guys." Natsu suddenly felt his motion sickness disappear. "Or we could take that new girl, huh? How about it?" Natsu raised his head and glared at the man. The man flinched at Natsu's glare. "That glare...you think you are better than us that you can look at me like that! Don't underestimate us like that!" The man yelled and this time tried kicking Natsu in the face. However, Natsu grabbed his foot and ignited his arm. "W-What?"

"You bastard...how dare you say that shit about my nakama!" Natsu roared as the man panicked.

"H-Hey, wait a minute...d-don't you know who you are dealing with! If you hit me then you would declare war on Eisenweld!" He tried warning him, but Natsu didn't give a damn.

"Looking forward to it..." Natsu told him and delivered an uppercut to the man's jaw. "Iron Fist of the Salamander!"

"Waaahhh!" He screamed as Natsu's fist connected with his jaw sending him and a large flame flying upward, through the roof of the train and into the sky. Natsu sighed in satisfaction and looked down at the floor to see the bag that he dropped and saw the skull looking like flute. He picked it up and wrapped his hand around it and grinned.

"Ugh..." Natsu groaned as his motion sickness returned and he collapsed back down to his seat.

* * *

><p>"W-What was that!" Erza shouted as she saw the large flame erupt from inside the train. Gray looked at the flame from his place above the wagon that Erza was using her magic to make it run. Lucy and Happy popped their heads out of the wagon at Erza's yell.<p>

"That looks like Natsu's flame!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Aye!"

"Let's hurry!" Erza poured in more magic to the wagon to get it to move faster.

When they got close enough tot he train, it started to brake to a halt. Erza made sure to stay next to the train cart that Natsu was and kept on decreasing the amount of magic she put it the wagon to accommodate the stopping train. When the rain came to a halt, so did the wagon. "Oi, Natsu!" Gray called out from atop the wagon.

Natsu was relieved when the train stopped and then heard his name being called. He looked around and didn't see anyone. He shrugged. "Attention passengers! We apologize for the inconvenience, we will be moving shortly. Also, the person who created that big hole in cart 5, be prepared to pay for the damage as an employee is going to confront you of the debt." Natsu began sweating nervously.

"Crap! I got to get out of here!" Natsu panicked. He tightened his hold on the flute and jumped out of the window. However, he wasn't expecting Gray to be standing there, well he did, but it wasn't like he remembered and they crashed into each others foreheads. The blow caused the two of them to fall of the top of the wagon and onto the ground.

"Natsu! Are you okay!" Erza called out.

"I'm fine too, thanks for asking!" Gray groaned in pain as he sat up. "...and you! What the hell is wrong with you, you idiot!" He tuned his attention to Natsu.

"Huh? Whoa re you?" Natsu asked, looking at Gray in confusion. "I lost my memory from the the shock just now." He added. "By the way, you smell."

"Natsu! We're sorry!" Happy apologized as Lucy and Erza ran over to them.

"Oi, Erza, Lucy! How could you leave me on the train like that! I thought we we're friends!" Natsu shouted at them.

"Oi, your memory seems just fine now..." Gray muttered under his breath, glaring at Natsu.

"Sorry, Natsu." Lucy apologized with a nervous smile.

"I apologize as well, Natsu." Erza added. She then put an arm behind him and pulled him into a hug, smacking his head into her armor. "I'm glad your safe."

"It hurts..." Natsu groaned.

"By the way Natsu, what happened? We saw the flame..." Lucy asked pointing to the train that started moving again.

"Huh?" He questioned looking at the train. "Oh right. Some guy pissed me off so I kicked his ass." Natsu told them. "His name was Eisenwald or something..." He lied, knowing he was about to get punched by Erza, but had a surprise waiting for them. Just like he remembered, Erza punched him hard.

"You idiot!" She yelled at him. Lucy gawked in shock as the punch made Natsu fly over a few yards. "Eisenwald is who we are after!"

"Huh? That's the first time I heard of it!" He lied.

"Why weren't you listening to my story!" She continued to yell at him.

'That's because you knocked him out.' Lucy thought in surprise.

"Tch! The person we are after is on that train, right? We should go after the train." Erza concluded.

"I doubt he's on it, I knocked him off the train." Natsu told her.

"So then, he's somewhere over there." Erza pointed to the opposite direction the train was going.

"Why are we after him anyway?" Natsu asked, lifting an eyebrow, despite knowing already.

"Do you want me to hit you again?" Erza muttered in anger as a vein popped in her head. Natsu started sweating nervously and shook his head. Erza sighed to calm herself down. "In any case, we have to find him and make him tell us what Eisenwald is planning."

Lucy, Gray and Happy nodded their heads, while Natsu pretended to look confused. "So, was there anything strange about him?" Lucy asked Natsu.

"Nothing special. He was a pervert though." Natsu answered.

'G-Great...' Lucy sweat dropped. "Anything else?"

"Well, he did have this weird flute thing that had a skull at the end. A skull with three eyes." Natsu told her.

"What the? That sounds gross." Gray commented. Lucy began shaking.

"Huh? Lucy, what's wrong?" Happy asked.

"A flute with a three-eyed skull...No...It can't be...it's just a made up story...but..." Lucy stuttered slightly. "...if that flute is the cursed song...lullaby...sleep...death..." She then remembered. "Ah! That flute is lullaby! Lullaby...the 'Magic of Death'!"

"W-What?" Erza exclaimed in shock.

"Cursed song?" Gray asked.

"I've only read about it in a book...but...among forbidden magic, there is such a thing as a 'murder by curse', right?" She told Erza as she nodded and went to sit on the driver's seat of the carriage.

"Yeah...just like the name, it'll curse the target and cast 'death'. It's a black magic." Erza explained.

"But Lullaby is different and worse!" Lucy told her as Erza gritted her teeth.

"Damn, if Eligor gets his hand on that, then there will be people in danger."

"But I have it."

"We don't have any time to waste." Erza told them ignoring Natsu.

"I said I have it."

"Natsu says he has it."

"Aye! That's what he said."

"Ah! That's what I heard." Lucy muttered before she realized what she just muttered. The four of them looked over at Natsu and he grinned at them as he showed them the flute in his hand.

"W-When did you...?" Erza asked in shock.

"I picked it up before jumping out of the train." He told them.

"Good job, Natsu!" Lucy cheerfully grinned.

"Aye!" Happy did the same.

"I'm impressed." Erza added, nodding her head.

"Not bad for an idiot like yourself." Gray complimented by adding an insult.

"Shut up!" He said to Gray and tossed Erza the flute. Erza grabbed it.

"Alright, now that we have this in our possession there is only one thing left to do. Punish those assholes from Eisenwald." Natsu grinned in excitement.

"Yosh!" Gray smirked.

"Sounds like fun." Lucy didn't know what her reaction should be, so she just smiled.

"Yeah."

"Aye!"

* * *

><p>"Get all the guests and driver off the train now!" A tall man, who had a tattoo across his chest and shoulders, and carrying a scythe told his fellow guild members. "Eisenwald is taking over!" The guild members all nodded and began pushing people out of the train as they were hijacking it at Kunugi Station. The man noticed that one of his fellow guild members who were supposed to meet them on the train wasn't on it. "Hey! Where is Kageyama!"<p>

"We don't know. We checked the train, but can't find him anywhere!" A guild member told him.

"That bastard! He has Lullaby! Without it, our plan won't work! That bastard better not have ran off with the flute! If he did, I will personally kill him!" The man yelled in anger.

"E-Eligor..." The man turned around to see a badly injured, crawling Kageyama.

"What the hell happened to you?" He asked, but didn't show any concern in his voice.

"E-Eligor...Lullaby...he took it...the Salamander took it..." He winced in pain as he told him what happened.

"W-WHAT!" Eligor shouted. "YOU INCOMPETENT FOOL!" He kicked Kageyama in the gut as the others cringed at the sight. "Damn this! Looks like we have no choice but to steal it back! Men! Go look for the people who stole the one thing we need to accomplish our goal!"

"HAI!" They shouted. "But what do they look like?"

"Pink hair..." Kageyama said.

"There's your answer. So, get to it!" Eligor shouted.

"HAI!"

* * *

><p>"Woah...what happened?" Lucy asked as she noticed a blockade and couple of guards blocking the path for others to enter.<p>

"I'm guessing something happened at the station." Erza answered her as Natsu groaned from his motion sickness in the background.

"You don't think Eisenwald took over the station?" Lucy asked.

"It's a possibility." Gray answered above her.

"But why a train? I mean I understand a carriage or a boat, but..." Lucy asked confused.

"Aye...it can only run on the rails so it's not very beneficial to take over, huh?" Happy agreed.

"But it has speed." Gray told them. "Maybe they're in a hurry to carry out some sort of plan." He suggested as he began taking of his clothes.

"Why are you taking off your clothes?" Lucy sweat dropped. "Well, it looks like the military is handling it, so it's only a matter of time before they get arrested."

"I sure hope so..." Erza muttered in worry.

"But why did you call us back?" One of Eisenwald's guild members asked Eligor as he and the others sat on on the train as it headed toward Oshibana Station.

"Why search for people who are after us anyway? We'll set a trap for them. Kageyama, what can you tell us about our chasers?" He asked.

"I only know about one of them, but he can use fire magic. Not only that, but he seemed to be sick while on the train." He answered. Eligor glared at him before grinding his teeth. The next thing Kageyama knew was the feeling of his ear being cut. "GUAAAAAHHHH!"

"You're lucky I need you or otherwise I would have killed you by now. You better pray that we retrieve the flute back or otherwise, I will kill you." Eligor threatened him and Kageyama shook in fear as he put his hands on his ears.

"H-Hai…"

* * *

><p>"Erza! You're going way too fast! The S.E. plug is inflating!" Gray yelled at her as he held on the carriage. Erza didn't stop and continued to pour her magic into the carriage to make it go faster. In doing so, she crashed into buildings, wagons, fruit and other property.<p>

"We don't have time! We may have the flute, but it would be useless if we don't stop what Eisnewald is planning as well. You saw what they did back at Kunugi Station!" Erza yelled back as she steered the carriage through the town they were passing through.

"I know that! But if you keep using your magic like this, you'll run out!" Gray fired back.

"I don't care!" Erza told him. "All we have to do is defeat them and that's it. As long as we possess the flute, we'll just have to kick their ass. Besides, even if I do waste all my magic, I have you guys." Gray looked down at her with a frown and didn't say anything back.

"Ne, Lucy. I feel like I'm forgetting something important to tell you." Happy said, making Lucy curious.

"What is it?" She asked as Happy made a face that showed he was thinking hard about it.

"I can't remember…" Lucy even became more curious.

"You're making me curious! Try to remember." Lucy pleaded and Happy did so.

"Hmmm…" Happy tried to remember as a groan was heard from Natsu on the opposite seat.

"I think…I'm not…feeling good…" Natsu groaned.

"Not feeling good…" Happy murmured and then made a pose that showed Lucy that was it.

"That's it!" Lucy screamed and looked over at Natsu to see him almost falling out the window. She rushed over and grabbed him to make sure he didn't fall of. "You're falling, Natsu!"

"Ugh…just push me…off…" He groaned to her.

"Hmm? What was it? Lucy. Weirdo. Fish. Lucy. Weirdo." Happy muttered.

"No I'm not!" She yelled at Happy. Then a large exploding sound was heard as the five of them looked in the direction the explosion came from and saw smoke begin to rise into the sky. "W-What is that!"

At Oshibana Station, people were panicking and scared out of their minds at the sudden explosion. "Ladies and Gentleman, please calm down! Please stay back! It is too dangerous to enter the station at this time!" A train employee spoke into the blow horn. "The train has been derailed due to an accident, so please be patient and I apologize for the inconvenience."

"Derailment?"

"Nah! I heard it was terrorists!"

"Until we can confirm the safety inside, the station is closed to all public." The employee added.

"Let's go!" Erza told the others as they pushed their way through the crowd toward the front.

"But it's closed." Lucy told her.

"We do not have time to listen to them." Erza retorted.

"Don't get sick by being near people!" Gray yelled at Natsu as he became sick again, making Gray carry him through the crowd.

When they arrived in front, Erza approached a station employee. "What's going on inside?"

"Huh? Who ar-" He didn't get to finish as Erza head butted him. She then turned to the next employee.

"What's going on inside?" She asked him and he didn't respond quick enough and she head butted him as well. Then she went on to the next and when he didn't answer her quickly, she did the same thing to the poor, confused employee.

"She hits you when you don't answer quickly enough….scary…" Lucy commented.

"You are getting to know her better and better." Gray added, feeling just as afraid as Lucy was.

"Hey! Why is **this **my role!" Lucy questioned as she was the one carrying Natsu on her back. She heard a groan in response from Natsu.

"Let's go inside." Erza told them.

"Yes, sir!"

"Aye!"

"I'm being ignored…" Lucy sweat dropped. Once they entered the station, they saw many of the military soldiers unconscious. "Hieek!"

"They were all defeated!" Happy exclaimed in shock.

"It isn't that surprising. The opponent is a guild filled with mages. The military platoon wouldn't be able to handle them by themselves." Erza told Lucy as she led the others up the stairs.

"This way!" Gray told them as they reached the top. "The platform is over here!" Erza nodded and they ran toward the platforms. Lucy lagged behind as Natsu groaned, feeling sick because he was being carried by Lucy. They stopped when they arrived at the platform and before them stood the entire guild of Eisenwald as they glared and snickered at their guests.

"I knew you'd follow us, Fairy Tail." Eligor snickered, glaring down at Team Natsu. Erza matched his glare as Lucy shook in fear at how many people were there.

"S-So m-many…why…?" Lucy asked, moving her eyes left to right.

"We've been waiting for you…" Eligor smirked.

"So, you're Eligor." Erza said.

"Huh? T-That's the armor girl…the one from the other day…" A member of Eisenwald, with three scars going down the side of his face said.

"I see, so she's the one who leaked out our plan." The guild member next to him stated.

"Oi, Natsu…wake up!" Lucy shook him. Natsu groaned in response.

"It won't work, Lucy. Natsu's has been on a train, and then the carriage and then by you. It's a massive combo!" Happy told her.

"I'm considered transportation!" Lucy yelled.

"These bastard! It's all their fault!" Kageyama growled in anger.

"Calm down, Kage-chan." A fellow guild member told him from behind.

"Hmm? That voice…" Natsu groaned.

"Now then, let's talk business." Eligor spoke. "How about you hand us over Lullaby and we'll let you go?"

"Like we'll accept that kind of deal." Erza told him angrily. "You will tell us what you are planning now!"

"Hmph! You just can't make this any easy can you. Oh well. Not like we were expecting it anyway. As for what we are planning, well, we are just bored." Eligor told her as she clenched her fist in anger.

"You…" She growled as the other guild members laughed.

"Don't you understand yet?" Eligor chuckled as he rose into the air, surprising Team Natsu.

"He can fly!" Lucy exclaimed.

"It's wind magic." Happy exclaimed.

"Station? What are you…" Erza muttered.

"He plans on using the speakers…" Erza and the others turned around to see Natsu start to get up. 'All though, that is not his true goal.'

"Natsu!" Lucy and Happy shouted.

"I see…so that's what he planned on using Lullaby for. Thankfully, we have it." Erza said as she turned around and looked at the smirking Eligor.

"Oh? Not bad. You figured it out." Eligor smirked. "However, we'll be taking Lullaby now. Men, attack! Get back what they stole from us!" He ordered his guild to charge at them.

The guild all yelled out their battle cries and ran toward Team Natsu. Kageyama was leading the charge as he wanted payback for what Natsu did to him. "You brat! Take this!" He yelled and placed his hand on the ground. The five of them watched as his shadow started to quickly head towards them. It reached Natsu and the shadow popped out of the ground in the shape of hand. Natsu wasn't impressed and ignited his flame.

"That's too easy. Give me a challenge for once." He told Kageyama as he punched through the shadow hand, cutting it in half. Kageyama eye's widened in surprise.

"Damn you! Stop looking down on our Dark Guild!" He shouted toward Natsu. Natsu frowned.

"I'm not you idiot. I'm just too strong for you." He grinned.

"You still are though…" Lucy sweat dropped.

'Oh? Impressive…however, I have to get that flute back. There is someone I have to kill and I will make sure that man dies.' Eligor thought mischievously.

"Natsu! Gray!" Erza called the two. They both looked at the red haired curiously. "I want you two to handle Eligor. If you are able to defeat him, then the others would have no choice but to surrender." Natsu and Gray looked at each other.

"But I don't need his help to defeat him." Natsu stated, pointing at Gray.

"What was that!" Gray fired back.

"You heard me! I should be more than enough to handle him!"

"You cocky son of a bitch!"

"Why are they fighting amongst themselves…" Lucy sweat dropped.

"I don't care who does it!" Erza yelled at them. "Just make sure he's beaten!"

"H-Hai!" Natsu and Gray shook in fear at her outburst.

"Alright then, me and Lucy will take care of the others." Lucy jumped in surprise and shook in fear at the charging mages running at them.

"T-Take care of that many people…just us two girls…" Lucy nervously stuttered.

"Don't worry, Luce! You can do it!" Natsu grinned at her and Lucy couldn't but smile back with a slight blush. She gave him a nod and the two bash brothers glared at each other.

"Make sure you don't hold me back, pinky!" Gray mocked.

"You bastard! Let's just see who is able to defeat him!" Natsu answered back and then both looked up at Eligor.

"You're on!" The two of them smirked and Natsu took the initiative and used his flames to make him jump upward to Eligor.

"Like I'll let you attack first!" Gray muttered and put a fist onto the palm of his other hand. "Ice-Make: Lance!" He shot his fist forward and created long, curved ice lances that he targeted toward Eligor. Natsu watched as the ice lances flew past him, missing him, and heading toward their prey.

"Oh? Ice magic..." Eligor snickered and used his wind magic to dodge the lances. "Not bad...but it would take more than that to finish me off."

"Then how about this?" Eligor's eyes widened as Natsu appeared behind him and put his hands in front of his mouth. "Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu blew out fire from his mouth at Eligor. Eligor quickly turned around to face the large flame attack.

"Storm Wall!" Eligor shouted and created a large wind like shield to try and block Natsu's Dragon Roar. He was able to successfully block Natsu's flame, but once the flame and wind disappeared, Natsu charged through, attempting to punch Eligor.

"Take this!" Natsu yelled. Eligor gritted his teeth in anger. He turned his head slight to try and lessen the blow when he saw the black colored hair of Gray Fullbuster. He too, was attempting to punch him. Eligor smirked.

'Idiots...' He snickered and used his wind magic in the last minute to get higher causing the two Fairy Tail mages to connect their punches against each other.

"Ugh..." The both groaned as they fell toward the ground.

Erza yelled her battle cry as she swung her magic sword to take out several of the guild members in just a couple of swings. She jumped in the air and struck more enemies. While in the air, She spun around and attacked more enemies while doing so. "Take this!" A enemy mage shouted. "A long range attack!" Erza glared at him and quickly changed her sword into a lance, striking the enemy that was about to use his long range attack. Once Erza landed back on the floor, she transformed her weapon again, this time to twin swords and struck a couple more enemies. She didn't stop as she transformed her weapon again and this time to a large axe and swung it horizontally to wipe out several more enemies. Lucy was amazed at how incredible Erza was when she fought. She was so elegant, but fierce at the same time. She never seen such magic before.

"H-How the hell can she ex-quip so fast!" Lucy heard some of Eisenwald Guild members yell in fear.

"Ex-quip?" Lucy asked, tilting her head.

"Aye! Her magic is similar to yours, Lucy. Like your stellar spirits, her swords can be teleported from different dimensions. We call that Ex-quip magic!" Happy explained to her.

"I-I see...that's quite amazing..." Lucy muttered in awe.

"However, Erza's greatness starts here." Happy smirked, making Lucy curious.

"Don't think you have won just yet! We still got this many against two woman and a stupid cat!" One of the enemy mages shouted.

"Oi!" Happy shouted.

"Hmph...this is so troublesome...I guess I just have to deal with all of you at once." She told them as her armor started to coming off along with smoke.

"Woah! Her armor's coming off!"

"Uh-yoooo!"

"W-What's going on?" Lucy asked.

"Usually, swordmages can ex-quip their weapons as they fight, but Erza can fight while ex-quipping her armor as well making her stronger." Lucy watched in awe as the smoke cleared and Erza was wearing a different type of armor. "That's Erza's magic: The Knight!" Lucy's eyes widened at Erza's new armor as it was now made of steel, with steel wings on her back and several swords floating behind her in a circle.

"W-Wow..." Lucy muttered, blushing a little.

"Woooaaahhh!" Some of the enemies cheered as their eyes turned into hearts.

"Erza...it can't be..." One of them muttered to himself in shock remembering Erza's name.

"Dance! My swords!" Erza activated her new armor's ability as the swords that circled behind her, spun and slashed against the enemy. "Circle Sword!"

"You bitch!" One of the enemies charged at Erza, a wind magic attack circling around his hand. Erza glared at him and then charged right toward him, attacking him and defeating him in one blow.

"N-No way...she's...she's Fairy Tail's strongest woman...Erza the Titania!" The surviving member screamed in fear. "She defeated Beard with just one strike!"

"W-Wow...amazing..." Lucy looked at her in awe. Erza looked around and saw that all the enemies were defeated and sighed. She could feel her magic decreasing after she used most of it in the fight. Then, the floor shook as Natsu and Gray crashed onto the floor, causing Erza to look in their direction with widened eyes.

'No way...did they get beaten by Eligor...?' Erza thought in worry as she knew herself that she didn't have enough magic left over to fight against someone as strong as Eligor.

"Natsu! Gray!" Lucy and Happy both shouted in worry.

Both Natsu and Gray made a groaning noise before they grabbed each others clothing around their necks. "What the hell Ice boy! Why did you punch me for!"

"What was that fire asshole! You're the one who punched me!" Gray fired back.

"I could have had him if you didn't interfere!"

"Yeah right! My ass, he was definitely mine!"

"Natsu...Gray..." Both men gulped in fear as they turned their heads to see a very angry, devil looking Erza glaring at them, possibly even piercing through their souls.

"They're dead..."

"A-Aye..."

"It's not what it looks like Erza..." Natsu tried to calm her down. "We were just playing around..."

"Y-Yeah...we're good buddies after all...I mean even they fight sometimes...right?" Gray added to Natsu's excuse.

"You idiots..." She growled at them. However, she didn't have the magic power left to scold them as she dropped to one knee and in the process, dropping Lullaby on the floor. Erza watched with wide eyes as the flute rolled away from her. Eligor smirked.

"The flute is mine!" Eligor shouted and swooped down to grab Lullaby. The five of them watched in shock as Eligor grabbed the flute and flew toward three of his surviving guild members. "Hahahaha! The flute is finally mine. Now, it's time for everyone to hear the wonderful melody that this flute possesses." Erza's eyes widened.

"No!" She shouted trying to get up but lost too much magic to do so. "Damn it..."

"Hahahaha! Now then...it's time for me to play a little song." Eligor flew up and out of the platform area.

"Crap! We gotta stop him!" Gray yelled. He tried running after him, but was stopped by a man who wore something that looked like a Egyptian pharaoh disguise. "Get out of my way!"

"No can do." He replied, smirking. "How about you and me have a little fun instead." Gray smirked.

"Fine then, but you asked for it." Gray told him as the two squared off.

"Hey pinky!" Natsu turned his head toward Kageyama. "Don't think you are going to get away fro what you did! I will make sure that this time yo-" He didn't get to finish as Natsu ignited his fist and punched him.

"Shut the hell up! You're annoying." Natsu angrily told him. He then walked away and walked over to Erza. "Oi, Erza...I'm going after Eligor." Erza looked up at Erza and nodded.

"Please, Natsu...you have to stop him or everyone at the station will be killed." Erza pleaded.

"Don't worry that's not going to happen. His target isn't the station." He told her and ran toward the exit. Erza's eyes widened in shock at what Natsu said. Why did Natsu say that? Were they wrong? Did he know something? What in the world was he talking about?

"Hahaha! Those foolish idiots didn't even know what we were actually really planning!" Eligor laughed as he floated above the station. "But just to make sure they find out...I'll trap them here using that." He smirked and started casting a spell. Just when he was about to finish, Natsu appeared behind him and kicked Eligor in the back of his head. The surprise attack sent Eligor crashing into the tracks below. Natsu landed on his feet a yard or two away from Eligor and punched his fist into his free hand.

"Yo, Eligor. How about we finish this?" Natsu glared at his opponent.

Eligor raised himself up and glared right back at Natsu. "You bastard..."

**To Be Continued...**

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes: <strong>Well, here is the next chapter everyone! Also, comic con is this weekend, well tomorrow actually and I hope I could meet Hiro Mashima as well as get his autograph and some merchandise they said he brought along. Unfortunately I have to get to where comic con is for a ticket I need to get such things at 6AM in the morning..ugh. Well, it would be worth it! So until next time!


	7. Natsu And Zeref Round One

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related which includes the characters of Fairy Tail.

**Rated M for future lemons! You have been warned!**

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes:<strong> I know I usually put the author's note at the end of my fics, but...**I**** GOT ****MY ****AUTOGRAPH**** AND ****A ****PICTURE ****WITH ****HIRO ****MASHIMA-SENSEI!**** OH ****MY ****GOD! ****COMIC ****CON ****WAS ****SO ****GREAT ****THAT ****I ****JUST ****COULDN'T ****PUT ****IT ****IN ****WORDS! ****MASHIMA-SENSEI ****IS ****FREAKING**** AWESOME!**

* Clears Throat *

Sorry about that...but it really did happen. I also got autographs from other people including the cast of the Funimation dub of the Fairy Tail anime so if I may say so, comic con was a huge success for me.

On to the fic, it seems I got some very hard criticism about the last chapter. You would think I'd be mad, but in fact, I am glad I got your honest opinion. Most people would stop writing their fics because of such opinions, either that or delete the review. However, I am not one of those people. The first thing, I want to say is about my error with grammar and such. I am not the greatest writer to have ever been born, I know that. In fact I have been trying to get a beta, but none of them ever returned any messages or any kind of reply. I will keep trying though.

Secondly, I understand why many of you are thinking that Natsu is the same as always or he is supposed to be smarter and having him do this and that and copying what goes on in the manga and everything. I am not denying that I am doing that. However, from this chapter on it will be different with some scenes from the manga. I will start to change everything because something is going to happen in this chapter that will change the rest of the story. This is another reason why I put the author's notes in the beginning.

I hope I will make some of you more pleased with this chapter because it will be original in many ways and I will try to not make any errors. However, I will say this that I am not perfect so there will be errors. If any of you know a beta that can help this story then please tell me. It will be a great help for me. So, let's move on to the story shall we?

Oh...and one final thing...**MASHIMA-SENSEI ****IS ****STILL ****AWESOME!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7: Natsu and Zeref Round One<strong>

"Makarov-chan!" Makarov turned his head to his right to look at The Guild Master of the Blue Pegasus, Bob. "I like the mages you have in your guild. They seem so lively!" Makarov laughed, his face red from all the alcohol he drank during the Meeting of the Guild Masters he was attending. "I heard they beat up some influential man from some where."

"Whyahyahya! Yeah, that would be Lucy, our newest member! She's really good! Her boobs especially!" Makarov answered back, swaying to his left and right a bit.

"Kyaah! Ecchi!" Bob squealed.

"Not only that...but a former mage returned just recently as well." Makarov looked down into the sake in his cup, seeing his flushed reflection.

"Oh? Who would that be?"

"Natsu!" He answered with a big grin.

"Oh? Isn't he the one you always complained about destroying towns or something?" Bob asked.

Makarov laughed. "Of course! It's good to see him after two long years! He sure made the guild lively again!"

"It's good to be lively, Makarov, but your guild should really tone it down a bit." The Master of the Quatro Cerberus Mage Guild, Goldmine, told Makarov. Makarov laughed.

"If we did then we wouldn't be the same! We would really be a boring guild!" Goldmine frowned.

"Yes, but you have to remember that the Council is really angry at you and your guild. It would be wise for them to at least not tear down a house every time they go on jobs. I mean, if you don't do something about it soon, they could destroy an entire town." Makarov ignored Goldmine and just twirled in circles on the table.

"Uhyohyo! I want to be smashed into Lucy's boobs!" Makarov's perverted mind began picturing such an act.

"My! Don't hit on one of your own mages, okay?" Bob told him, walking away to talk to other Guild Masters.

"Makarov-sama!" Makarov turned around to see a bird carrying a white envelope. "You have a letter from Mirajane-sama!" Makarov grinned and grabbed the letter and opened it. The hologram form of Fairy Tail's own Mirajane appeared and greeted her Master.

"Master! Thank you for attending the regular meeting!" The other Guild Masters were staring at the hologram with their eyes turning into hearts. Makarov laughed at their expressions and started gloating.

"Look! She's our drawing card! Isn't she too cuuute?"

"We've got some wonderful news, Master!" Mirajane's hologram recorded message continued.

"Oh?"

"Erza came back and teamed up with both Natsu and Gray to form a team! Of course, Lucy and Happy are with them as well." Makarov sweat dropped and started shaking, ignoring the last part he heard.

"Don't you think it's wonderful?" Mirajane's hologram recording exclaimed, clasping her hands together and tilting her head to the side. She had a large smile plastered on her face as the recording continued. "I think this might as well be the strongest team in Fairy Tail!" Makarov started sweating faster. "I thought it would have been a good idea to inform you about this! So, I hope the rest of the meetings go well! So, until you return!" Makarov sweated all over his body. The hologram disappeared and Makarov fell backwards to the floor.

"Makarov!"

"What happened?" One of the Guild Masters asked.

Makarov laid on the floor and shook in fear at what he was just told. 'G-Goodness gracious! Now they really might destroy a whole town! Please...I beg of all of you...don't do anything stupid! Especially you, Natsu! If you use that then...then...Oh my God!'

* * *

><p>Gray gritted his teeth as small, dark spear like magic shot from in between the fingers of Rayure. Gray dodged his magic and when he got closer, kicked him in the face. Rayure groaned in pain. "Damn you..."<p>

"What the hell are you up to?" Gray demanded, glaring at Rayure. "If Eligor really wanted to use Lullaby on the people of this town he would have used it once he had his hands on the flute! What is he up to and you better answer!"

Rayure chuckled in amusement. "You really want to know, don't you?" Gray continued to glare at him. "Fine, I'll tell you since Eligor would never lose to that pink haired buffoon. Did you really think that we wanted to just kill anybody using the Lullaby? Of course not. We are after a bigger prize. Let me ask you this, do you know what the last stop is on this train?" Gray stayed silent. "If you don't know, then I guess that means you have no idea what's going on in Clover at this moment as well."

Gray's eyes widened. "C-Clover...t-that's where the Guild Master Meeting is taking place!" Rayure laughed. He lifted his arm and used the same magic again as more shadow spears heading toward Gray. Gray was in so much shock that he didn't notice Rayure's attack and felt his magic pierced through or cut his body.

"Gray!" Erza screamed. 'Damn it...their target all this time were the Masters!'

"Hahaha!" Rayure laughed loudly.

"You guys are pretty reckless...you know that." Gray muttered as Rayure stopped laughing. "To use Lullaby on the old geezers that strong is pretty stupid."

"Hmph! That's why this is the perfect time to use it! They will be too distracted by their meetings that they won't know what hit them! It will be as easy as taking candy from a baby!" Rayure laughed. Gray lifted his head and gave him the meanest and strongest glare Rayure had ever seen. Without even knowing what happened next, Gray quickly appeared in front of Rayure and placed his hand over his face. "W-What...?"

"Don't fuck with us!" Gray growled as he began freezing Rayure with his ice magic. "We'll stop this! We will make you regret that you took on our parents! We will show you that there are more terrifying guilds than Dark Guilds!" Gray finished as the now frozen Rayure fell backwards, landing on the ground with a clank.

"Gray did it!" Lucy cheered.

"Aye!"

"Well done, Gray." Erza acknowledged, feeling her magic slowly returning to her as she stood up. Gray turned around to the last remaining member of the Dark Guild, Eisenwald. The others did as well. Karakka shook in fear as the three, plus a flying cat glared at him. He knew had no chance against them and he did the only thing he could think of. He ran away.

"He's running..." Happy stated the obvious.

"Like I'll let him get away!" Lucy exclaimed, removing a golden key from her key ring. "Open! A door to the crab, Cancer!" With a bright light and a poof, a Stellar Spirit with crab legs on his back appeared. Happy was so excited to see the crab like Stellar Spirit that his eyes were glowing.

"It's a crab! It's a crab! I bet he's going to say '~kani' at the end! I'm sure of it!" Happy chanted, dancing and prancing in joy.

"You're being too noisy..." Lucy told him.

"Lucy..." Cancer spoke, lifting his hand to show a small blade. "...what kind of haircut would you like-ebi?"

"Now is not the time for that!" Lucy screamed.

"Ebi!" Happy yelled in total shock. He then started crying. "Lucy...you can send him back now. It's like expecting a straight and then getting a hook."

"Would you stop that?" She yelled. "Anyway, make sure you stop that guy from escaping!" Lucy told Cancer.

"Yes, Lucy-ebi!" Happy felt even more disappointed as Cancer ran toward Karakka. Karakka ran as if his life depended on it, which it did. He turned his head to look behind him and he screamed at the sight of a running crab chasing after him. He turned back around and saw himself running straight into a wall. He didn't stop however and continued running. The others looked in shock as Karakka ran into the wall and then disappeared. Cancer stopped before hitting the wall.

"W-What? What happened?" Lucy asked in shock.

"It must be his magic." Erza answered. "He probably has the ability to go through walls or enter them and move around the surfaces." They found out it was the latter.

"Up there!" Happy pointed up to one of the pillars and they saw Karakka popping his head out of the wall.

"Crap! They found me!" He cursed.

"If you didn't want to be found then why did you appear!" Lucy and Gray shouted.

"Lucy...do you want me to deal with him-ebi?" Cancer asked.

"Of course...go get him!" Lucy said.

"Right-ebi!" Cancer nodded and jumped upward. Karakka saw Cancer appear in front of him and he quickly retreated back into the pillar. Cancer slashed the pillar into many pieces, but none belong to Karakka. "I missed...ebi."

"He missed...I told you to send him back...it's because he says ebi at the end." Happy told Lucy.

"Would you be quiet?" She yelled back.

"Where did he go?" Gray asked.

"If only there was a way to find out." Erza said. "Do you have any Stellar Spirits like that?" Erza asked Lucy.

"If I did I would have probably used them by now." Lucy told her.

"Ah! What about that new Spirit you got?" Happy asked. "I remember what I wanted to tell you and that was it."

"You mean Virgo?" Happy nodded. "Well I haven't done a contract with her yet so..." She reached toward her key ring and took Virgo's key. She clenched the key tightly and pointed it in front of her. "Open! The door to the virgin! Virgo!" With another light and a poof, a spirit wearing a maid outfit appeared and bowed her head.

"How may I help you, Mistress?" Lucy gawked at Virgo. "What is it, Mistress?"

"Ano...weren't you bigger and umm..." Lucy didn't know how she could say what she thought.

"I am a loyal Stellar Spirit. I work in whatever appearance you'd like me to." She replied.

"Hey...she seems pretty cute..." Gray smirked.

"Anyway! We need your help! I know we didn't make a contract yet, but we don't have much time left." Lucy told her.

"That is fine, Mistress. What is it that I can help with?" Virgo asked.

"We need you to find someone that is using the walls and floors to hide from us. Do you think you can help? Oh and don't call me Mistress." Lucy told her.

"I will see if I can. How about 'Your Highness'?" Virgo answered.

"No."

"Princess?"

"That is fine."

"Will you just get on with it?" Gray sweat dropped.

"Very well." Virgo walked toward Cancer. She then jumped and dove into the ground in a surprising move. They waited a while before she popped out again. "He's behind you, Cancer. He's going to try to stab you." Cancer nodded.

"Thank you-ebi." Cancer turned around at the same time Karakka popped his head out and his eyes widened in horror. Cancer grabbed his head to pull him out and started beating him senseless. After an excruciating pummeling, Cancer dropped an unconscious Karakka to the ground.

"You did it!" Lucy exclaimed in excitement.

"Aye!"

"Not bad." Gray said impressed.

"You did well, Lucy." Erza congratulated her as she pulled her into a hug, Lucy's head hitting against her armor.

"Oww..." Lucy groaned. Once she was let go, she looked toward Virgo. "How did you know where he was?"

"When I was digging, I sensed him using his magic and then just concentrated my focus to the spot where the magic was coming from, Princess." Virgo explained.

"Wow! Your amazing!" Lucy complimented her.

"Thank you, Princess."

"Now that we are finished here, we better go see if that idiot is having trouble with Eligor." Gray told them. They looked at him and nodded. Lucy's spirits returned to the Stellar Spirit World and the others ran off to where Natsu was.

* * *

><p>"Damn you...what the hell are you!" Eligor groaned as he coughed up blood. Natsu glared down at him as he held Lullaby in his hands. Eligor never fought someone as powerful as Natsu. It only took him a minute to finish him off. It felt like he was an ant and Natsu was able to crush him so easily. He still couldn't remember what happened. Everything went so fast that all he remembered where the two of them glaring at each and then this. Just who the hell was this guy?<p>

"Me? I'm a mage of Fairy Tail and don't you forget it!" Natsu answered proudly. He kicked Eligor in the gut one more time and he passed out. Natsu sighed and looked at Lullaby in his hand. He grinned. "Well, it looks like the old man and the others won't have to worry about this!"

_I'm sorry...Natsu..._

Natsu's eyes widened. He recognized that voice anywhere. It couldn't be! No...it couldn't! Natsu looked around. Where was he? Was he hiding from him? Natsu desperately looked every where around him. He didn't see him. All he saw where some spectating townsfolk that stayed behind to watch the fight between him and Eligor. Where was he? "Where are you! Zeref!"

_I'm sorry...Natsu...but I'm not there...I'm talking to you telepathically..._

Natsu gritted his teeth in anger. "You! What the hell?"

_Natsu...it looks like it has been going easy for you, hasn't it? However, it would be a problem if you don't use your full strength. I'm sorry...that I have to do this..._

Natsu looked down at the flute in his hand as it began to shake. "W-What the...? What's going on?" Natsu dropped the flute to the ground and jumped away from it. The flute continued to shake for a few more seconds. It then began changing shape as smoke came out of the skull. Natsu's eyes widened as the flute grew an arm. 'It can't be...no!' Natsu's fear came true as the flute turned itself into that monster that he remembered. The true form of Lullaby let out a mighty roar. The townsfolk started running for their lives as the monster's roar shook the earth they ran on. "Damn you, Zeref!" Nastu yelled.

_I'm sorry...Natsu..._

The monster glared down at the town of Oshibana and saw all the townsfolk that were running away from him. "_**I'm **__**starving **__**to **__**death, **__**so **__**I'm**__** going **__**to **__**eat **__**your **__**SOULS!**_" The monster roared and swung his arm, destroying several buildings in the process. Natsu gritted his teeth and clenched his fists tightly in anger. He didn't want this to happen. He wanted to defeated Eligor to prevent this monster from appearing.

"Natsu!" His eyes widened at the sound of Erza's voice. He turned around and saw his friends running toward him. Images of their bodies resurfaced once again. He cursed under his breath and looked away from them, hoping the images would go away. They didn't.

"Oi, Natsu! What the hell is that thing?" Gray yelled at him, looking up at the monster.

"It's Lullaby..." He muttered in response.

"Lullaby? You mean the flute?" Lucy asked. Natsu nodded his head.

"Mm. That is it's true form. This monster..." Natsu muttered again. 'Damn you, Zeref!'

"Wait a minute! Why would it suddenly just transform like this?" Erza asked. Natsu didn't know how to answer that. He knew he couldn't tell them the truth. What could he say? Lullaby let out another roar. With another swing of his arm, he destroyed several more buildings. Team Nastu covered their eyes from the dust and wind that blew by them. Lullaby then looked down to see the five of them below him.

"_**I **__**guess **__**I'll **__**your**__** souls **__**first!**_" Lullaby roared and swung his arm down at them. Erza, Gray and Happy were able to jump out of the way of the attack, while Natsu picked up Lucy and jumped away to avoid the hand as well. Lullaby's hand smashed against the ground and created several cracks in the ground around his giant hand.

Natsu landed on top of a building and put a blushing Lucy down before turning back around to glare at Lullaby. "Lucy...stay here..." Natsu told her. Lucy looked at Natsu and noticed the demand in his voice. It actually surprised her. His voice was quiet, but there was just something in it that made her worry. She knew he would get angry if she didn't do what he asked and nodded her head.

"A-Alright..." Natsu took off toward Lullaby.

Lullaby let out another roar as Natsu joined the others. "Natsu!" Erza exclaimed as he stood in front of the monster. He looked over his shoulder at them and grinned.

"Let's kick this guy's ass." The others grinned right back at him.

"Yosh, let's go!" Gray smirked and placed his fist on his palm.

Erza charged toward Lullaby and changed her armor to the one she used to take out the members of Eisenwald and slashed the monster's leg. Erza's eyes widened when her sword shattered into pieces. "W-What?" Natsu was just as surprised as she was. He remembered that Erza's attack would have cut the monster's leg in half, but it didn't do it this time.

"_**Hahaha!**__** Is **__**that **__**all **__**you **__**got!**_" The monster laughed as he swiped his hand and back handed Erza into several buildings. Natsu eyes widened.

"ERZA!" He shouted.

"Damn you!" Gray yelled. "Ice Make..." He switched his hand positions so that his palms faced toward the monster and made an 'X' shape. "...Lance!" Gray shot out his magic from his palms as many ice lances connected. However, not even those were affected against him. Gray's eyes widened as the monster laughed again and smacked Gray into the other buildings.

"GRAY!" Natsu screamed again. 'W-What the hell is going on? This shouldn't be happening! We should be able to defeat him! Why is he stronger?'

_I'm sorry...Natsu..._

Natsu's eyes widened and he gritted his teeth in anger. 'You...you made him stronger...'

_I had to, Natsu...I need to know how powerful you have gotten...I had to do this...I'm sorry...Natsu..._

"Damn you!" Natsu roared as he ignited his arms and used them as thrusters to appear in front of the monster's face and punched him in the cheek.

"Ugh..." The monster groaned, feeling pain from Natsu's punch. The monster stumbled back a bit and then glared at Natsu.

"_**You**__** bastard!**_" The monster roared and smacked Natsu away like a fly. Natsu yelled in pain as he crashed to the ground. Natsu groaned as blood ran down the side of his mouth. He stood up and glared at the monster.

_It won't work Natsu...is this really your strength after two years..._

'You want to know my full strength! You hurt my friends because you want to see how stronger I got. Fine! I will show you! I will show you...just how strong I got...' Happy stared at Natsu and watched in awe as the atmosphere around him began changing. Happy knew this feeling. It was the same feeling that he remembered when they were training for the past two years. It meant that Natsu was serious. He didn't know why he so serious, but he assumed it had to be due to Erza and Gray being knocked out so easily by this monster.

"Natsu..." Happy frowned.

"Wraaaaaahhhhhhhh!" Natsu roared as flames started to surround his body. Cracks starting forming on the ground he stood on. A large flame circled around Natsu before his entire body was covered in his flame. "Wraaaaahhhh!" Natsu roared again as the flame moved toward his right arm. His entire right arm was engulfed in the flame. Happy could see something happening to his arm from within the flame and he knew what Natsu was doing. Natsu lifted his flamed arm and whipped it to remove the flames from his arm. Happy knew it. He really was using that.

Erza coughed as she walked out of the destroyed buildings she flew into. 'Damn! I got lucky I was able to transform into my defensive armor before he hit me.' Erza thanked her quick ex-quip magic. She looked forward and all she saw was the smoke that formed when she crashed into the buildings. She took a few steps forward and the further she went, the clearer the smoke became. When she finally was able to get through the smoke, she saw Happy. "Happy...where's Natsu?" Happy didn't look at Erza, but did answer her.

"He's using it..." Erza blinked at him confusion. She turned her head to look in the same direction and her eyes widened.

"Natsu...what...what is this...?" Erza asked in shock.

"Dragon Metamorphosis." Happy answered for him.

"Dragon...Metamorphosis..." Erza repeated slowly as she stared at Natsu's changed arm. His arm no longer looked human, but looked like one giant claw made of what Erza guessed was red dragon scales. "W-What is this...?"

"It's something Natsu learned while we were away for two years..." Happy answered. "...it's similar to Mira-chan and Elfman's take over magic. However, because Natsu is a Dragon Slayer, he is able to transform any part of his body into the same structure of a dragons." Happy then frowned and his ears dropped down. "But it comes with a price..."

"Price?" Erza asked.

"Mm. Using the Dragon Metamorphosis takes so much magic and energy that...that it shortens Natsu's life span..." Happy muttered sadly. Erza's eyes widened as she turned back around to Natsu.

"Your kidding me..." Happy shook his head. 'Natsu...why would you...'

_Natsu...this is..._

'Speechless, huh?' Natsu smirked as he clenched his new dragon arm. He raised it and look down at it before glaring back up at Lullaby.

"_**Take**__** this!**_" The monster roared and opened his mouth to shoot out magic bullets toward Natsu.

"Natsu!" Erza screamed. Natsu didn't move as the magic bullets exploded where Natsu stood. The explosion of the attack created a gust of wind that made Erza and Happy shield their eyes and try their best to not get blown away by the wind. "Natsu!" Erza screamed in worry for her comrade. The smoke that covered Natsu was beginning to clear and Erza's eyes widened. Natsu used his dragon arm as a shield and from what Erza could tell, the attack by the monster didn't even deal any damage to the arm. "W-Wow..."

"Is that all you got..." Natsu told the monster, but was really talking to Zeref.

"_**You**__** bastard!**_" The monster roared.

_Impressive...Natsu...but...are you really prepared for the consequences of that technique..._

'Shut the hell up! I will do anything to protect my friends!' Natsu told Zeref. Natsu clenched his dragon hand tightly and created flames under his feet to make him soar toward Lullaby. The monster made a noise in surprise at the glare Natsu gave him. Natsu delivered a strong punch at the monster's cheek. The force behind the punch was so strong that it sent the monster toward the other side of Oshibana. The monster groaned in pain as he crashed down onto several buildings, destroying them.

"N-No way...is that...Natsu..." Lucy spoke in shock as she saw Natsu attack the large monster from the building she stood on.

"Damn it..." Lucy looked away from Natsu and down below to the streets to see Gray struggling to get up.

"Gray!" Lucy screamed in worry and made her way down to him. Once she got down to him, she helped him up. "Gray! What happened?"

"That ugly monster thing hit me..." Gray replied as he got back on his feet with Lucy's help. "What about you? Why are you here?"

"Natsu told me to stay here." Lucy told him. "He sounded kind of..."

"Kind of what?" Gray asked.

"I...I don't know..." Lucy frowned as Gray stared at her.

"Whatever. Let's meet up with the others." Gray told her and she nodded in agreement. They both ran off.

Natsu glared at the fallen monster as it started getting up. "_**You **__**bastard...how **__**dare **__**you? **__**I **__**will **__**eat **__**your **__**fucking **__**soul!**_" The monster roared and tried smacking his hand down at Natsu. Natsu just raised his arm and stopped the monster's attack. "_**I-Impossible!**_" The monster was shocked. Natsu glared back at the monster.

"It's over..." Natsu told him. With one strong push, Natsu pushed the arm up, causing the monster to lose his balance. Natsu jumped up and clenched his dragon hand tightly as he ignited it with a large flame. "Arm of the Salamander: Flaming Dragon Strike!" He punched the air and a large blast of fire magic shot out and obliterated the monster.

"_**I-Impossible! **__**Aaaaaahhhhh!**_" The monster roared as the flame started to burn him into smithereens. Happy, Erza, and the two other remaining members of Team Natsu, Lucy and Gray all widened their eyes and jaws dropped at the destructive force of Natsu's new attack. Once Natsu was done, he dropped to the ground with a thud and his arm reverted back to normal. He turned around to his friends and grinned.

"Yo! I won!" He chuckled. 'How about that, Zeref?' Natsu didn't hear a response from him and wondered why he didn't say anything. He shrugged it off assuming that he was too shocked to say anything and watched as his friends ran up to him.

"Natsu...what the hell was that?" Gray was the first to speak.

"Oh...I guess I never told you guys...It's my new move I've been working on." He answered.

"W-Wow!" Lucy whispered in amazement.

Erza didn't say anything. She only frowned at Natsu. 'Natsu...you...' She didn't know why Natsu would learn a move that could slowly kill him. Was there a reason for it? Just what has Natsu been doing the past two years.

"Natsu..." Natsu looked toward his feline friend and grinned at him.

"Don't worry, Happy. I'm fine!" Happy frowned, but it slowly turned into a smile and he nodded his head.

"Aye!"

"I guess this means our job is complete." Gray muttered, scratching his hair.

"It seems so..." Erza agreed.

"Phew! I can't wait to get back home and take a bath." Lucy sighed and stretched her arms out.

"I'm hungry..." Natsu muttered, patting his belly.

"Aye..." Happy agreed.

"What the hell did you do?" The five turned their heads to see a shocked Makarov with his jaw dropped to the ground.

"M-Master!" Erza exclaimed in surprise at seeing him. "W-Whata re you doing here? What about the meeting?

"I left early after I heard about you teaming up with Natsu and Gray and yet I find this..." Makarov was speechless at the destruction they caused to the town of Oshibana. Hell, it didn't even look like a town anymore. It was more like a war zone now. "You..."

Lucy cringed in fear at the Master's angry expression. "M-Master...it's not what it looks like..." She tried to calm him down.

"You brats! Do you know how angry the council will be when they hear about this?" Makarov told them.

"Weren't you the one who said to screw them?" Natsu crossed his arms.

"Yeah, but those were minor incidents. All of you took out an entire town!" Makarov yelled at him.

"Actually, it was mostly Natsu." Gray pointed to him.

"Oi!" Natsu yelled at his rival.

"Haha! So it was them who did this!" They all flinched in surprise as they turned around to a mob of angry townsfolk. "Look at what all of you have done to our town!"

"Oi, we saved you from that monster so you should be happy about it!" Natsu argued.

"Oh...right...well thank you for that...but we still hate you for destroying our town!" The man in the center, who was the leader of the mob, shouted. "Let's get them!" The angry mob roared in agreement and started running toward them.

"Crap! Let's get out of here!" Gray yelled and they turned around to run away from the mob.

"Sorry about this, Master." Erza apologized.

"You know what...just forget it. I'll deal with the council..." Makarov sighed. Erza smiled at him before looking toward Natsu. Her smile turned upside down.

'Natsu...why...'

**To**** Be ****Continued...**


	8. Natsu, Erza, Mirajane And Ultear

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related which includes the characters of Fairy Tail.

**Rated M for future lemons! You have been warned!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8: Natsu, Erza, Mirajane, and Ultear<strong>

_STOP IT!_

_I'm sorry...Natsu...I gave you a chance, but...you aren't strong enough._

_DON'T SCREW WITH ME!_

_Natsu...I'm sorry...but you blew it...I can't give you another chance...I'm sorry..._

_NOOOO! DON'T YOU DARE HURT MY FRIENDS!_

_Natsu...help me..._

_LUCY!_

_Natsu..._

_ERZA!_

_This is your own fault...Natsu..._

_NO! DON'T DO THIS! PLEASE!_

_Natsu...I...I..._

_LISANNA!_

_I'm sorry for doing this Natsu...I really am..._

_STOP IT! LUCY! ERZA! GRAY! LISANNA! HAPPY! MIRA! OLD MAN!_

Natsu opened his eyes and sat up abruptly. He felt his entire body covered in sweat. He let out several deep breaths to calm his racing heart. Natsu placed his hands on his face and then ran them through his pink hair. He let out one final sigh before looking over at Happy. He was sleeping calmly in his small hammock. Natsu sighed again, this time in relief. It was only a nightmare. It was weird though. He didn't have a nightmare like that for a while. So, why was he having it again? Could it be because he had an interaction with Zeref? He didn't know.

He swung his legs over and got off his hammock. He stretched his arms up and walked over to the door and opened it. He saw the sun was starting to rise. 'It's so early...' Natsu thought. He knew he wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep. He turned to look at Happy and saw that he was still sleeping. Natsu decided to let his friend sleep and closed the door silently.

He didn't know where he was going, but he needed to take a walk. He looked around the town and saw that there weren't a lot of people out and about yet. He found it strange only because he never woke up so early before. He wondered what he should do. He could go to the guild, but no one would be there so early in the morning. He let out a yawn. He felt tired, but not so tired that he would want to go back to sleep. In fact, he was afraid. He was afraid of having the nightmare again. He hated it. To see his friends being killed all over again because he was too weak. He didn't want to relive it. He trained for two whole years to prevent such a nightmare from becoming reality.

Looking around, he started to see merchants opening up their shops or carts for the day. He could smell the food that they were preparing and he loved the scent. Maybe he should go buy some. He did feel kind of hungry. He was about to head over to a cart that was filled with fruit, but stopped when he heard a voice behind him.

"Natsu..." Natsu turned around and saw Erza standing behind him, wearing casual clothing.

"Erza...what are you doing so early in the morning?" He asked, surprised to see her.

"I should be the one asking you that." Erza replied narrowing her eyes at him. Natsu chuckled a bit and scratched the back of his head. Erza stared at Natsu with a small frown. What Happy told her about his new technique played in her head and it made her worry. Natsu saw her frown and raised an eyebrow.

"What is it, Erza?" Erza was snapped from her thoughts at his question and looked away. This confused Natsu and made him worry. Did something happen to her? "Erza...what is it?"

"Natsu...come with me for a bit..." She told him and turned around. She started walking and Natsu followed her. He felt confused. What did she want? Where were they going? He wanted to ask her, but he couldn't move his mouth. Before he knew it, they were in a park. He looked around and saw no one in the park, except for some joggers who ran around it. He continued to follow Erza until she stopped in front of a bench and sat down on it. She looked at him and patted the seat next to her. Natsu walked over and sat down. The two of them sat there without speaking a word to each other. Natsu felt uncomfortable at the atmosphere. It felt weird to him. He took a glance at Erza. She was frowning again and kept her eyes down at the ground in front of her.

"E-Erza...what's wrong?" Natsu asked nervously. He didn't want to anger or upset the red head, knowing full well of how scary she could be when she was angry. She didn't move or even flinch when he spoke to her. He was so confused. Did he do something wrong? He hoped he didn't do anything to upset her. "E-Erza..."

"Natsu..." She finally spoke after some time. He looked at her with furrowed eyebrows. "During our job...when you used that new technique of yours...Happy told me something..." Natsu had this voice in his head that told him where Erza was going with this. What should he say? If it really is what he thought it would be about, then how should he explain it to her. Telling about Zeref and everything was out of the question.

"What did he say?" He asked, looking at her.

"He said that...your new technique...shortens your life span..." Natsu knew it. He told Happy to keep it a secret from everyone, but he should have known that Happy couldn't keep a secret for long. Now, one of his friends knew the secret of his technique and there was a part of him that was kind of glad Happy told them. He didn't know why he felt happy about it, but he guessed it had to do something about it being easier to tell someone about it now that Erza knew. "Is it true?" Erza asked, turning her head to look at him. She still had the frown on her face. Erza then got a surprise when Natsu chuckled and scratched the back of his head.

"Hehe, I guess I should have known Happy would spill my secret sooner or later. I didn't think it would be this soon though." Erza couldn't believe that Natsu was joking around like this, especially since it involved his own life. It made her angry.

"Why...?" She whispered. Natsu blinked at her.

"W-Wha...?"

"WHY ARE YOU JOKING AROUND LIKE THIS?" Natsu had expected her to yell at him like this, but still flicnhed in surprise. He looked down to the ground in front of him. "Why are you using a technique that is killing you?" Natsu didn't respond and only stared down at the ground. 'Natsu...why aren't you answering me?' Erza thought. "Natsu..."

"I'm sorry, Erza..." Erza's eyes widened at his apology. "I'm sorry...but I can't tell you..." Natsu hated not telling one of his best friends the truth. He wanted to tell her everything, but Zeref warned him not to. He couldn't lose the chance of meeting with Zeref in the future. "I'm really sorry...Erza..."

"Why can't you tell me, Natsu? Aren't we friends?" Natsu felt pain in his chest at her words. Yes they were friends, but he couldn't tell her. It was to protect her. It was to protect all his friends. He wanted to tell them, but he couldn't.

"Yeah...we are friends...but...this is something I can't tell you, Erza...I'm sorry..." Erza didn't like his answer. However, she could tell from the sound of his voice that he really wanted to tell her, but something was stopping him from doing so. She didn't know what it was, but figured it must have been something extremely important to make Natsu like this. Natsu heard Erza sigh and looked at her.

"Alright then. However, please promise me one thing." Erza told him.

"Sure..." Natsu responded, knowing full well what she was going to make him promise.

"Please...don't use that technique...anymore...please..." Erza looked at him with pleading eyes. Natsu looked back at her.

"I promise..." Erza smiled and stood up.

"Thank you...Natsu. I'll see you later." She told him and started walking away.

"Erza!" Natsu called her and she stopped. She turned her head to look at him. "Don't forget...you promised me that I could fight you once we got back!" He grinned and Erza couldn't help but smile back at him.

"Of course! Just make sure you're prepared because I won't go easy on you." She told him.

"Of course! I'm not as weak as I was the last time we fought." Natsu smirked. Erza smile widened and gave Natsu a nod. She turned back around and walked away. Natsu watched Erza until she disappeared from his view and let out a large breath of air. The day already started out a little stressful for him. He stood up and stretched his arms out. He looked up at the sky and it was still pretty early. 'Happy is probably still asleep. I guess I can go visit that place...' Natsu thought. He contemplated on whether he should visit that place. After a while, he decided that he should and started walking toward the destination.

* * *

><p>"How long has it been...since I actually visited you in this place?" Natsu smiled and looked down at a tombstone that had the name Lisanna written on it. "I guess it's because I couldn't accept your death that I never came here." He added. "Although, it's funny. You're alive in that place where Happy's family is located. What was it again?" He started pondering the name of Lisanna's location. "Oh well. I guess it doesn't matter. After all, I'll be able to see you again." He smiled as he remembered the times he spent with Lisanna back when they were children.<p>

It felt weird not seeing Lisanna in the guild when he was sent back in time. It only felt like a week ago that he was hanging out with her in the guild. Then, it just came crashing down after Zeref did what he did. The memory of Lisanna's cold, dead body on the ground, covered in blood returned. He clenched his fists tightly. Twice. Twice Lisanna died. Even though the first time she died he wasn't there. However, he still blamed himself for not being there to save her. Then she died a second time. That time he was there. He had a chance to save her, but he was too weak. He couldn't protect her. He couldn't protect any of them.

He let out a sigh to calm his anger down. She was alive and that's all that mattered. He will see her soon enough. There was no point in feeling sad over her death. He was going to see her again. He really was. He smiled sadly at her grave and just stood there. He could feel a gentle breeze blow by him. It felt kind of nice. "Natsu?"

Natsu made a noise in surprise at his name being called and turned his head to the right to see Mirajane. He saw the flowers in her hands. He smiled. "Ah, Mira-chan!"

"W-What are you doing here?" She asked, surprised that he was here. He looked back down to Lisanna's grave as Mirajane walked over to him. It was surprising for Mirajane to see him here. She only remember seeing him visit her sister's grave once and that was the day after her funeral.

"I thought I should at least pay my respects once in a while." He told her, smiling sadly. Mirajane smiled as well and placed the bouquet of flowers in front of Lisanna's grave.

"I see. Thank you, Natsu." She told him, pulling her hair back behind her ears. She stared at Lisanna's grave and frowned slightly.

"I'm sorry...Mira-chan..." Mirajane gasped at his apology and looked up at him. She couldn't see his face as he hid them behind his hair.

"Why are you apologizing for...Natsu?" She asked.

"It's for not being able to save her. To be honest with you...I always blamed myself for Lisanna's death. I know I shouldn't, but that's how I feel." He told her as he frowned. "I know I wasn't there, but...I feel like I should have been. I should have been there to save her. I...I just can't help but blame myself...Lisanna was my friend and I..." His eyes widened when he felt Mirajane wrap her arms around him. She pulled Natsu closer to her in the hug. "M-Mira...chan..."

"Please don't blame yourself...Natsu..." Mirajane told him. Natsu could hear her voice being a little shaky. "Natsu...I didn't know that you blamed yourself for her death. But please don't...if anyone should blame for her death it should be me..." Natsu's eyes widened. "You and Elfman...both of you shouldn't blame yourselves. So, please...don't..." Natsu placed his hands on her shoulder and pushed her back, surprising her.

"Then don't blame yourself either!" He yelled softly. Mirajane gasped at his words. "Mira-chan...stop telling me and Elfman to not blame ourselves for Lisanna's death! It wasn't your fault!"

"But..." Mirajane tried to argue.

"No buts! I'll stop blaming myself for Lisanna's death and so should you...so please...don't blame yourself..." He told her. Mirajane eye's widened. Tears started to fall down her eyes and when Natsu saw this, he pulled her back into the hug. Mirajane couldn't help but let her tears fall from her eyes as they soaked Natsu's vest. He didn't mind though. He knew Mirajane never showed it, but he had this feeling that she blamed herself for Lisanna's death. However, it wasn't her fault. It wasn't Elfman's fault. It wasn't his. Lisanna did what she did because she loved her brother and sister. Natsu wondered if he should tell her that she was alive, but kicked himself mentally for such a thought. She was alive and she will reunite with Mirajane and Elfman soon. That's what mattered.

The two of them stayed like this for a couple of minutes. Mirajane's crying slowly came to a stop. She pulled away from him and wiped any remaining tears from her eyes. Natsu noticed a tear escape from her right eye that she missed and lifted his hand to her face to wipe it away for her. Mirajane blushed at the feeling of his fingers across her face and looked at him. He was grinning at her. "A-Arigatou..." Mirajane answered, her face flushed.

"No problem!" Natsu responded. He took one last glance at Lisanna's grave. "Well, I should head back home to see if Happy is awake. I'll see you later, Mira-chan!" Natsu told her as he walked past her. Mirajane looked at Natsu until he was gone before turning toward Lisanna's grave.

"Natsu has changed, hasn't he..." Mirajane giggled, a small blush on her cheeks.

* * *

><p>Natsu opened the door to his home to see Happy still sleeping in his hammock. The Dragon Slayer scowled. "Oi Happy! Wake up!" Natsu yelled. Happy turned away from Natsu and mumbled something that Natsu couldn't hear. "Oi! I said wake up!" He tried again.<p>

"No! Don't steal my fish..." Happy mumbled loudly. Natsu sweat dropped.

"Wake up!" Natsu shouted and this time shook him.

"I swear it wasn't me who stole fish when Mira wasn't looking!" Happy suddenly shouted as he became wide awake. He blinked before finding Natsu next to him. "Oh? It's Natsu!"

"Of course it's me! By the way, I'm telling Mira-chan that you stole fish from the guild's kitchen." Happy's jaw dropped in horror.

"No! Please don't do that Natsu!" Happy pleaded, grabbing his leg.

"Nope! That would be your punishment for telling Erza about the consequences of my new technique." Natsu told him as Happy started crying.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do it! I promise I won't tell anyone else!" Happy cried. Natsu sighed at his friend and then smiled.

"Alright. I'll forgive you." Natsu told him, rubbing the top of his head. He chuckled as Happy looked up at him with thankful eyes.

"Arigatou! Natsu!" Natsu grinned and walked back to the door.

"Let's go!" He told his feline friend.

"Where are we going?" Happy asked.

"To prepare for my fight with Erza." He answered.

* * *

><p>"Even with Eisenwald having gone under, the main problem hasn't been solved yet." A member of the Magic council spoke to the others as they had a meeting to discuss the incidents with Eisenwald. "There are still tons of illegal guilds out there."<p>

"Then we should just root them altogether."

"How?"

"It's intolerable if anyone would embezzle Zeref's Magic again." One of the council members with a white beard and what looked like a bat on top of his head told the others.

"First of all, how could they have snuck out such magic that easily?" Another council member asked.

"That's still a mystery but we might have to call the management to take responsibility." Another responded.

"But Fairy Tail, the one guild that all of you have been so annoyed with, showed up and saved the day." A man with light blue hair and a tattoo around his right eye spoke. "They were able to take down this one guild with only four or five people." The other council members made a noise in annoyance at the fact. "I can understand why you don't want to admit the truth, but that's how it is." He told them. "In fact, you should thank them and give them an award or something."

"Like hell we would!" The council member with the bat on his head yelled and slammed his fist down on the round table. "Even though what you say is true, they also destroyed an entire town! Do you know how much it would cost to rebuild Oshibana?" Siegrain chuckled in amusement. "Don't laugh!"

"Well, if you have a problem with them, why don't you send one of us over to that annoying guild and confront the man responsible." Siegrain suggested.

"Man? I thought it was more than one person?"

"Yes it was. However, there was one man who actually did the most damage." He told them.

"Who?"

"Natsu Dragneel." Siegrain answered.

"Natsu Dragneel?"

"Yep...I heard that he left Fairy Tail two years ago and only returned a week ago. However, no one knows why or what he did during the two years he was gone." Siegrain crossed his arms.

"How do you know all this?"

"I have my ways. Now then, if I may make a suggestion...I think it would be best if Ultear should be our representative to visit this guild that annoys us so much." Siegrain suggested.

"Why her?" One of the council members asked.

"It's because I offered myself to do so." The young, black haired female member of the council answered. "From the time I joined the council, all I heard was how annoying this guild is. I thought this would be a perfect time to actually see what this guild is really like." Ultear told them.

The other council members looked at each other before making their decision. "Fine! How long would it be until you arrive at their guild?"

"With my magic, about a couple of hours."

"Alright then, but we expect a full report about the guild and how they act. Make sure you also get information on this Natsu Dragneel as well." The council member told them.

"Very well." Ultear said and turned around to leave. Siegrain smirked as she left. As Ultear left the room and walked a few steps forward, Siegrain appeared in front of her. "My, your hologram form looks so life like." Ultear chuckled.

"Ultear..."

"Don't worry, Siegrain-sama...I know..."

Siegrain smirked. "Very well then. Make sure you get every single detail about the incident from him. After all, if what I found out was really true, then he might be the only person who knows about Zeref." Ultear smirked and walked through his hologram.

"Hai, Siegrain-sama."

'_Eisenwald's Terrorism attempt at the Guild Masters' Regular Meeting Site immediately became big news, and it wasn't long before the entire nation found out about it. I still can't believe that I was in the midst of such a big incident, but here I am, just living another day in my regular little life. Though, I have to admit I get excited when I remember that incident from time to time. Rumors say Kage and most of the Eisenwald members were arrested. No surprises there. But what scares me is the fact that Eligor hasn't been arrested yet. What would happen if he came to Fairy Tail to retaliate? Though I think we'll be all right. Fairy Tail has the strongest team with Natsu, Gray, and Erza plus Happy the cat and me. This guild is the best. Please mom, don't worry about me. I'm doing fine over here. After all, I know many amazing people. Although, Natsu is amazing. He was able to defeat this large monster by himself. It was kind of incredible. Even though he is kind of an idiot, it's really fun being around him. Well, that's all I have to say for now, mom. P.S. Please don't tell dad._' Lucy sighed and placed the letter in a white envelope and sealed it. She stretched her arms and legs. "A great, suspense-filled adventure is fun and everything, but nothing beats relaxing at my own home."

"I agree...70,000 Jewels rent for this is nothing." Lucy turned her head at the new voice. "You found a nice place, Lucy." Gray raised a hand as he was sitting on Lucy's bean bag chair in his underwear.

"TRESSPASSER!" She yelled and then kicked him in the face. "AND DON'T TAKE YOUR CLOTHES OFF IN MY APARTMENT!"

"Ugh..." Gray groaned a she rubbed the spot where Lucy kicked him. "Hold on Lucy...you got it all wrong. I already took off my clothes before coming here."

"JUST GO HOME!" She yelled.

"Geez...I only came here to tell you that 'that' is happening today. I though you would have forgotten." Gray told her. Lucy looked at him confused.

"Huh?" Gray knew it. He sighed.

"See, I knew you would forget. Didn't you hear from Natsu before we left for the mission? Natsu and Erza are fighting." Lucy's eyes popped out of her head.

"W-WHAT?" Lucy and Gray ran as fast as they could toward the large group of people near the guild. Once they arrived, Lucy pushed through the members of Fairy Tail to get to the front. "Hold up, a minute! Are you sure about this?"

"Oh, hi Lucy." Mirajane greeted the blond.

"Of course they're dead serious!" Elfman told her. "If they weren't, they wouldn't be real men!"

"But Erza is a girl." Mirajane corrected him.

"More like a monster woman..." Max Alors made a side comment.

"Huh? But wait, where's Natsu?" Lucy asked after only seeing Erza in the fight area.

"He's late...that idiot..." Gray grumbled, answering her.

"You think he chickened out?" Nab slightly chuckled.

"I'll take that bet." Gray smirked.

"I doubt Natsu would run away." Mirajane defended him.

"That's right! He wouldn't be a man if he did." Elfman agreed slightly.

Erza disregard all the comments the other members were making. She knew Natsu wouldn't run away from a fight. He even told her that he was really excited about this fight. In fact, she was too. After what she witnessed on their last job, she wanted to test her full strength against him. She wanted to know just how strong he got after two years. This fight would be the perfect opportunity to find out for herself.

"What about you, Master? Who do you think will win this fight?" Droy asked.

"Are you stupid? Of course the Master would pick Erza." Jet argued with his fellow teammate.

"Actually, I think Natsu will win this fight." Makarov corrected them and the whole guild made a noise in surprise. Even Erza was surprised. She knew Makarov would never favor one single person because he loved everyone in the guild like they were his children. However, it was still surprising that he would pick Natsu over her. Did he know something about Natsu that she didn't already see? She knew he wouldn't use Dragon Metamorphosis. He promised he wouldn't. Did he have some other techniques she didn't know about? Erza was now really looking forward to their fight.

"Master...a-are you serious?" Gray asked. Makarov only nodded.

"Ah! Natsu is here!" The guild all turned their heads to see Natsu and Happy walking toward them. Natsu walked past them toward the fighting area and stared at Erza with a smirk. Happy joined the others to watch the fight.

"You're late." Erza told him.

"Sorry about that." Natsu answered. "I just had to do something before coming here." He told her. Erza furrowed her eyebrows at him.

"Oh?" Erza responded.

"Well, I'm here now, right. So, let's get this fight going!" He smirked.

Erza returned his smirk. "Fine then. I'll take this fight serious so..." She began as she started using her Ex-quip magic to transform her armor into the Flame Emporer's Armor. "...fight me with all you got."

"Flame Emperor's Armor! That's fire-resistant armor!"

"The effect of Natsu's flame will be decreased by half!"

"Erza! You're taking this too seriously!"

"Glad to see you're really going all out, Erza!" Natsu smirked. 'Although, I have to finish this fight before that lizard guy interrupts this fight.' Natsu thought. "Now, let's just see how well this armor can do against the new me!" He ignited his fists and took his fighting stance. The two of them stared at each other as they awaited Makarov to give the signal.

"Ready..." Makarov raised his hand. "...GO!" The crowd all shouted in excitement as Erza and Natsu charged at each other. Erza eyed Natsu carefully as he threw a punch at her, that she easily dodged by moving her body backwards. Her eyes widened when Natsu was no longer in front of her, but appeared behind her.

'Fast...' Erza saw him try to kick her and she barely dodged it by ducking. She quickly spun around and tried to slash Natsu. Natsu smirked and grabbed her sword with his bare hands. Erza's eyes widened in shock. The others also had shocked expressions, with some having their jaws dropped to the floor. 'N-No way...'

"Sorry Erza..." Natsu muttered as he pulled her sword toward him and then clenched his fist tightly. He then punched Erza in the gut. Erza spat out some saliva at the blow and skidded to a stop a few feet from him. Erza dropped to a knee and put a hand to her stomach. The guild members were speechless. Natsu continued to smirk and cracked his knuckles to tell her that he was just warming up. "What's the matter Erza? Giving up already?"

Erza raised her head to glare at Natsu. She stood up and pointed her sword at him. He was fast. Not only that, but even though she was wearing armor that decreased the power of fire magic, he was still able to land a powerful blow on her. Just how strong had he become over the two years. "Like I would give up..." Erza told him. She then flew toward him and Natsu ignited his fists into flames again.

Erza started swinging her sword at him, going into the offensive. She slashed and slashed, but no matter how quick she slashed or how much power she put into it, she couldn't land one single hit. It frustrated her. How could Natsu be this strong? Was he the same loud, rambunctious idiot that she easily defeated the last time they fought? It was like he was on a whole new different level. Sure he was loud and still an idiot, but when it came to strength, he was totally different. She didn't know exactly what he did during the two years, but whatever it was, Natsu became so much stronger than she had over the same two years.

Natsu was running out of time before that lizard guy from the magic council would arrive. He had to finish this quickly. He then stopped dodging and allowed Erza to slash him. The guild members all made noises in surprise that Erza was able to connect with at least one of her swings. Some even cringed at the possibility that Erza might have seriously hurt Natsu. Erza feared that as well, but the feeling of fear was gone when Natsu's body turned into a large flame before dispersing in the air.

"What?" Gray shouted in shock.

"What the...?" Erza muttered in surprise as well. She looked around to search for Natsu, but she couldn't find him anywhere. She then heard Natsu roar above her and she looked up. Erza felt Natsu grab her head with his hands and then slammed her down to the ground. Erza groaned in pain. The guild members all had their jaws dropped to the ground in total shock. Natsu defeated Erza? It would have sounded like a fantasy if they hadn't witnessed it for themselves.

"Does this make it my win?" Natsu chuckled. He removed his hands off her head and moved to the side.

"Ugh...it's not over...yet..." Erza muttered, as she started to get up. Natsu sighed. He forgot how relentless Erza was. Which surprised him since that was one of the qualities he remembered he feared most about her. He was glad to continue the fight, but it was about the time for that lizard guy to stop their fight. Erza struggled to get up, but did so and pointed her sword at Natsu again. "Let's continue!" She told him.

Natsu watched as she charged at him again. He didn't move knowing that this fight was going to stop. However, it wasn't and Erza slashed him, cutting his vest. Natsu was in so much shock that he stumbled and fell to the ground. 'What the...? What's going on? This isn't right...wasn't that guy supposed to...' He pushed himself up. Something was wrong and he knew it. He was sure he didn't do anything different. It was then he realized that there was something he did differently. Oshibana. He destroyed Oshibana. That didn't happen before. Could this be the consequence of changing his past. He stood up and looked at Erza. He didn't know if it was true or not, but he didn't have the time to think about that right now. He clenched his fists and glared at Erza.

Erza noticed that he didn't move when she landed her attack on him. Why? Did he let her attack him? No, that wouldn't happen. Natsu wouldn't do that, especially when he fought one of his nakama. So then why did he? She watched as Natsu stood up and ignited his fists. She didn't know what happened, but whatever it was, it looked like it wasn't going to happen again. She smirked. "Let's go, Natsu."

"Ah!" He responded and charged at Erza. Erza grabbed her sword with both hands and gripped it tightly. She raised it to her shoulder and held her ground and waited for Natsu to get closer. Once he got closer, Erza swung her sword upward with all her strength. Natsu was able to stop in time and flipped backwards, landing on all fours. He then blew fire at her. Erza swung her sword to blow the flame away. However, Natsu used that as a decoy to suddenly show up in front of Erza. Erza's eyes widened in shock at how fast Natsu was. Natsu ignited his fists and punched her again in the stomach. Erza groaned in pain as she was blown away by Natsu's punch and crashed to the floor in front of the feet of the spectators.

Erza groaned in pain as the punch was more powerful than the previous one he dealt to her. She raised her head slightly to look at Natsu, but her eyes turned toward the large crack in her armor. Her eyes widened in shock. She sat up and placed a hand on her now cracked armor. 'He...damaged my armor...'

"A-Amazing...Natsu is amazing..." Lucy said in awe.

"What the hell? How is this even possible?" Gray muttered in shock. Makarov figured this fight would turn out like this. He knew Erza would want to continue this fight, but he had to stop it because it was clear who the winner was. He watched as Erza struggled to get up and took this as his cue to intervene and stop the fight.

"That's enough!" Makarov told them. Erza stared at him in shock, while Natsu understood why he decided to stop the match. Natsu wanted to defeat Erza, but he knew that if they continued this fight, he could seriously injure Erza and that was not what he wanted.

"But Master..." Erza tried to argue.

"I'm sorry Erza...but it's clear to me and everyone else who the winner of this fight is." Makarov sadly told her. Erza looked at Natsu and he looked back at her. Erza furrowed her eyebrows at him and sighed. Makarov was right. This really was her loss. Natsu was strong. Stronger than her. She figured that out when he used Dragon Metamorphosis back on their last job. The thought that Natsu was stronger than her gave her this weird feeling. She didn't know what this feeling was, but it made her feel empty inside. She saw a hand in front of her and looked up to see that it belonged to Natsu. He grinned down at her.

"I had fun, Erza. Let's do it again sometime." Erza wasn't sure why, but her cheeks felt warmer than usual. She grinned back at Natsu and took his hand. Natsu helped her up.

"Mm." Erza nodded in agreement. The others looked at the moment with their own smiles, though some still had shocked expressions on their face over the fact that Natsu beat Erza. Then someone started clapping. Everyone turned their heads up to the top of building to see Ultear clapping her hands while sitting on the edge of the roof.

"That was a quite impressive fight, Natsu-kun..." She teased. Natsu's eyes widened at the familiar face.

"You..." He growled angrily. Erza heard Natsu growl and raised a confused eyebrow at him. Did he know her?

"U-Ur..." Gray whispered in shocked. He couldn't believe it. Was that really his teacher? He took a closer look at her and noticed that she looked similar to Ur, but it wasn't her. Just who was she?

"Sorry to interrupt this beautiful moment, but I'm a member of the Magic Council." She told them. "I came here to see personally just how loud and fun this guild was rumored to be." She told them and jumped down to the ground.

"Eh? A Member of the Magic Council?" Makarov narrowed his eyes at Ultear. He knew the council would do something after the incident at Oshibana, but he would have never expected them to personally come to the guild. Ultear walked toward them and stopped in front of Natsu. She noticed the angry look he gave her and was confused by his anger, but did find it amusing.

"My, why are you getting so angry for, Natsu-kun..." She said with some teasing at the end.

"Why...?" Natsu whispered low enough so that Ultear could hear. "Why are you here?" He asked her.

"I told you already, didn't I?" She replied. Natsu got annoyed by her answer and grabbed her arm. Ultear was surprised by this. She was then suddenly dragged by Natsu away from the others.

"Ah! Natsu!" Erza called after him, but he didn't stop.

"Who was she?" Lucy asked confused.

"I don't know..." Gray answered unsure. 'Why does she look just like Ur and how does Natsu know her? Just what the hell is going on?' He watched Natsu drag her away with furrowed eyebrows.

* * *

><p>Once Natsu saw that he was far away from the others, he dragged Ultear into an alleyway and pushed her against the wall. "What the hell are you doing here?" He angrily asked her.<p>

"My, Natsu-kun...I didn't take you for the aggressive type..." She teased him again.

"Shut up! Why are you here?" Natsu asked again.

"I think the real question is...why are you acting like you know me when we never met before?" Natsu's eyes widened. What was he doing? She was right. He never met her before and yet he was acting like he knew her. He let go of her arm and backed away from her. "Oh? Why are you backing away like that, Natsu-kun?"

"I...I..." Natsu was speechless. He was caught in a corner. What should he do now? He knew he couldn't tell her the truth because she was one of the people who was searching for Zeref. If he told her, then who knows what could happen. But what can he say to get out of this predicament?

"Speechless, huh, Natsu-kun? Then let me ask you this, why did you let Erza Scarlet attack you when you could have easily dodged that attack of hers? It was almost like, you were expecting the fight to be stopped." Natsu's eyes widened in horror.

'She noticed that...' Natsu thought in panic. '...w-what do I do?' Natsu was running out of time. He had to come up with an excuse, but what could he say. He looked at her and she still had that same teasing smile on her face. He clenched his fists tightly. "W-What are you doing here?" He asked and Ultear noticed that he was trying to change the subject. Her smile grew.

"I see. Oh well, I'll tell you. You see, the council wants to know something about the incident at Oshibana and we heard that you might know something." Ultear told him. Natsu looked at her confused.

"W-What?"

"I'm talking about how you were able to defeat the monster that transformed from Lullaby." She clarified.

"Why do you want to know? That flute turned into that monster and I beat the crap out of it." Natsu told her.

"I know that, Natsu-kun...but what we want to know is why did it transform?" Ultear clarified even further. Natsu's eyes widened. Now he was really in trouble. Was it possible that she knew about Zeref transforming that flute into that monster? No...it couldn't be...there was no way she knew. He then remembered something. She was a member of the council, which meant that...that man was there as well.

'I see...' Natsu put the pieces together. 'It's Jellal. So...this is Zeref's doing as well. He's controlling that man to test me. Damn you...Zeref!' Ultear suddenly came closer to him and moved her face closer to his ear.

"What is it...Zeref's doing?" Natsu didn't react to her words. He knew that if he did, then she would have suspected something. Once she pulled back, he looked at her with a fake confused face.

"Zeref? Who's that?" He didn't know if his fake confused expression worked or not, but Ultear seemed to have bought the lie that he knew Zeref.

"I see..." She sighed. "Oh well...sorry for bothering you and your guild." She told him and started walking away. Natsu looked at her until she turned a corner and then clenched his fists tightly before punching the wall in front of him.

'Damn you...Zeref...I thought you wanted me to kill you...' Natsu felt angry. 'So, why are you doing this...?' Unknowing to Natsu, Ultear leaned against the wall next to the alleyway and saw what Natsu did and smirked. She then started walking away. She raised her arm and opened her hand. Siegrain suddenly appeared on the palm of her hand in holograph form and he looked up at her.

"So?" He asked.

"You were right...Siegrain-sama...Natsu Dragneel knows something..." Siegrain smirked.

"Nice job, Ultear. Return to Era." Ultear nodded her head and Siegrain disappeared.

"Hai, Siegrain-sama..."

Natsu took a deep breath to calm himself down and walked out of the alleyway. "Natsu!" He turned his head to see Happy flying toward him.

"Oh? Happy!" He exclaimed and put a hand in the air to greet his friend.

"Natsu! Erza has been arrested!" Natsu's eyes widened.

'What the hell?' Natsu thought. He didn't know why he was surprised at the news since he knew it was going to happen. However, it was supposed to happen during his fight with Erza and not now. 'Just what was going on?'

**To Be Continued...**

* * *

><p><strong>Author<strong>** Notes:** Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I tried my best to make it somewhat canon and original and I hope I did a good job with it. Some are asking about what the official harem will be and there are some things that I want to say.

First off, it surprises me that many of you want me to add Juvia into the harem. Then there are those who don't want Levy in the harem and it's not as surprising as the Juvia one, but I made a decision on it all. There will be two different groups of harem in this story. There will be the main harem and then the minor harem characters. What this means is that the main harem are going to the characters that will be well the main harem. The minor harem are going to the the characters that will have some moments with Natsu, but not as much as the characters from the main harem. However, that doesn't mean any of the minor harem characters can't get into the main harem group. For example, let's say as the story progresses, a character in the minor harem gets more moments with Natsu then they will join the main harem. I'm sorry if this confuses you and I hope it doesn't, but I think this will be a good thing for the story. Let me know what you guys think of this idea. Now, I'll list the characters in the two groups.

**Main ****Harem:** Lucy, Erza, Mirajane, Lisanna, Wendy (Remember the authors notes from chapter 2), Cana, Ultear

**Minor**** Harem:** Juvia (Because many of you want her to be involved), Levy (Because I like Levy and I think she should join in the action even though it wont be much), Virgo (Why not have a celestial spirit involved)

Some of you want other characters but I won't add them yet until this story progresses into the arc that they come in.

Alright then that's all I have to say for now! Enjoy and see you all later!


	9. Natsu is a S Class Mage?

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related which includes the characters of Fairy Tail.

**Rated M for future lemons! You have been warned!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 9: Natsu is a S-Class Mage?<strong>

The once loud and cheerful guild was now in dead silence and worry. The mages of Fairy Tail were all inside sitting in front of tables, heads either laying on their hands or on the tables. None of them talked to each other. For the first time in a while, Fairy Tail, the guild that was said to be the loudest and carefree guild in the world, was silent. The silence in the guild felt awkward for Lucy. Ever since she arrived at the guild, it was always rowdy and noisy. There was never a dull moment in the guild. However, after what happened to Erza, there was a good excuse for this guild to be like this.

"Something is really fishy here." Lucy broke the silence. "Can't we do something?"

"Don't be ridiculous. This is the council we're talking about." Gray responded. He sighed, placing his elbow on the table and resting his head on his hand.

"Even if something's white, once a council member says it's black, then it becomes black." Max added.

"But why?" Elfman wondered. "We've done many things in the past, so why this time?"

"Yeah...I just don't understand." Loke added, frowning.

"What's not to understand?" Makarov interjected. "Natsu, Happy, Erza, Gray and you too Lucy...you destroyed an entire town remember?" Gray and Lucy sweat dropped.

"But why are they blaming Erza when it was all of us who did it?" Lucy asked.

"Well...it was mostly Natsu..." Gray grumbled.

"Who knows what the council members are thinking?" Makarov sighed. The door suddenly opened and everyone simultaneously whipped their heads towards it. It was Happy.

"Happy?" Lucy questioned as he flew toward the table she sat in front of. "W-Where's Natsu?"

"I don't know." He replied. "He said he was going somewhere and when I asked he told me that you had a whole pile of fish waiting for me, so I came here. So! Where's the fish?" Lucy sweat dropped at the poor, easy to trick, cat.

"Sorry, I don't have any." Happy looked at her in shock.

"W-WHAT?" He felt like an idiot for believing what Natsu told him. He started to cry.

"Here you go!" Happy turned around to look up at Mirajane as she smiled and gave him a plate with two salmons on it. Happy immediately became overjoyed and started chowing down on his treat.

"But where could Natsu have gone?" Lucy asked.

"There is only one place that idiot would go in a situation like this." Gray told her, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. Lucy took a while before she realized what he meant.

"No way...he couldn't have..." Gray unfortunately nodded his head. "Shouldn't we stop him?"

"No...just leave him be." Makarov answered her.

"But Master..." Mirajane frowned, trying to argue with him, but she knew he wouldn't change his mind.

"Just wait this out..." Makarov told them. "...just wait quietly for the outcome."

* * *

><p>Erza walked down the large hallway of the Council: Fiore Branch building, her hands cuffed in front of her. The messenger that was sent to get her was walking next to her. Erza didn't know why she was arrested, but whatever it was, it had to be some sort of mistake. She stopped and her eyes widened when she saw a figure hiding in the shadows in front of one of the pillars. She recognized the person and was shocked to see him meet her before her own trial. "S-Siegrain!"<p>

Siegrain smirked at her and pushed himself off the pillar he was leaning against. "Long time no see, Erza." The messenger quickly knelt down in respect for one of the Council Members as Erza took a defensive pose. Siegrain chuckled at her. "Put your guard down. This is only a imaginary body. My real body is back at Era. Those geezers behind that door are also in their imaginary bodies." He told her, pointing his thumb at the door at the end of the hallway. "They wouldn't bother coming here for a small case like this."

"I see...so this was your doing!" Erza growled at him in anger.

"That's unexpected...I even spoke on behalf of Fairy Tail." Siegrain told her, feeling amused at her anger. "To be honest...I didn't want to do this...but those geezers were getting impatient on waiting for Ultear's report and so they arrested you in fear that they would be held responsible for what happened at Oshibana and with Lullaby."

"Ultear?" Erza asked. She then remembered the woman who Natsu went with. "So...that woman's name was Ultear. What did she want with Natsu?"

"Natsu? Sorry, but I don't what you are talking about." He responded, but Erza knew he was lying. After all, the face he made was enough proof of that. That disgusting, evil smirk he had angered her.

"Don't lie, Siegrain!" Erza yelled at him. "What does the council want with Natsu?"

"Hmph, you were never one to fool, Erza. However, the council doesn't want anything to do with Natsu. In fact, Ultear just arrived at Era only a few minutes ago." Siegrain told her.

"What about Natsu?" Erza asked, concerned for her friend.

"Don't worry...he's fine. He's probably back at that wonderful guild of yours." Siegrain told her.

"Shut up!" Erza growled at him again. He sighed.

"Alright then...I'll be quiet but I'm going to tell you the reason why I came here before your trial." Siegrain smirked at her as he approached her. He leaned his face closer to her and placed his thumb and index finger on her chin. "Never tell the geezers about 'that', okay?" He whispered to her as Erza continued to glare at him. "It's for our own good." He added before pulling away. "So..I'll be waiting for you behind that door as a member of the Council." He told her and then his holographic body disappeared.

"Y-You know...someone that important..." The messenger asked in shock.

"He's evil." She replied in anger as she continued to glare as if Siegrain's hologram was still in front of her.

"Eh?" The messenger blinked at her in confusion.

Erza didn't answer him and started walking toward the door again. Once she was inside the large courtroom, she walked toward the stand in the middle room and then looked up to see every member of the Magic Council, which included Siegrain. Below the council members were the messenger that brought Erza to the trial and the stenographer. The messenger cleared his throat and raised the paper in his hand before speaking. "We'll now start the mage trial."

"Defendant Erza Scarlet...concerning the terrorism incident with Eisenwald the other day, as well as being suspected of destroying the town of Oshibana. According to the witness' testimony...the culprit is a female mage in armor and a..." Before the Council Member could finish, a sudden explosion behind Erza interrupted him, surprising the red haired woman and the Council Members. She turned her head around to see what happened and what she saw was so surprising she couldn't find the right words to describe it.

"WRAAAH! I'M THE ARMOR MAGE! ARREST ME IF YOU CAN!" The Council Members all stared in shock as well, some even dropped their jaws. Siegrain looked on in amusement. He heard stories of how reckless Natsu was and this incident proved that. What was more amusing was the fact that he decided to wear a red haired wig and very similar armor. It was really amusing. "I'M ERZA, DAMMIT! TELL ME WHAT I'M GUILTY OF!"

Erza couldn't believe this. 'This idiot...' If she was able to, she would have face palmed, but since she couldn't she sighed instead. This was extremely embarrassing for her.

"MAKE SURE THAT IT'S EVEN MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE GUILD MASTERS' LIVES!" He finished off as the Council Member in the middle glared down at him. He then sighed. He looked at the destruction Natsu caused and he really didn't want to deal with this with all the other problems he had. So, he decided to do what he was planning on doing from the start. He turned his head to the guards below them.

"Take them to jail." He ordered them as the guards saluted and walked toward Erza and Natsu.

"I'm really sorry about this..." Erza apologized, bowing her head.

"Don't apologize to them Erza! No...wait! I'm Erza!" Natsu yelled, but it was of no use. The guards grabbed them by the shoulders and pushed them out of the room. Natsu turned his head to give Siegrain a glare in which the light blue haired man noticed and smirked in response. Once the two were gone, the Council Members all sighed and rubbed their foreheads in frustration at the new problem they had to deal with. Siegrain on the other hand didn't take long to make his imaginary body disappear from the courtroom.

* * *

><p>Erza and Natsu both sat in the prison cell they were locked in. Erza was pissed at what Natsu did and it only made it worse that he had his back toward her. She didn't know why he had his back toward her or why he tried to pretend to be her, but she did appreciate it. Sure, he looked like a total idiot, but it touched her that he would do something like that. Although, it wasn't like she was going to be put in jail. After all, they did plan to release her after the trial was finished, but thanks to Natsu, she was now in prison when she could have left a long time ago. "Hey Natsu...you do know you didn't have to do something like that. I mean it was just going to be a formality. The arrest was only a facade."<p>

"I know." He replied, earning a surprise from her.

"You knew...then why..." Erza asked.

"Because I wanted to." He replied.

"Because you wanted...to?" Erza repeated in confusion.

"It wasn't your fault to begin with anyway. If anyone should take the blame for destroying that town it should be me." He answered. "Even if it was a facade, I was responsible for it and you shouldn't have taken the blame. I wouldn't allow a friend of mine do such a thing for me." He told her. Erza was amazed at what he said and her cheeks felt warm again. She didn't know why they got warm again, but it did feel sort of good. 'Besides...the real reason I'm here is to see that man...' Natsu thought as he looked down the hallway. He then spotted him. 'Jellal...' Siegrain smirked as he sensed Natsu noticing him. He tried to take a step forward, but a voice stopped him.

_Stop..._

Siegrain cringed at the pain he felt in his head. He didn't know whose voice it was, but he felt some strong magic entering his body. The voice he heard in his head was the cause of the pain he felt. The voice spoke once again.

_The time to confront him is not now..._

Siegrain put a hand on his head.

_The time for you two to confront each other is soon...until then...continue with building the Tower of Heaven..._

The pain Siegrain felt slowly went away as the voice didn't appear again. He put his hand down and looked back down the hall at the cell that Natsu was in. He closed his eyes and decided to do what the voice told him. He then released his imaginary body, disappearing from the prison.

Natsu didn't know exactly what happened, but Siegrain disappeared, leaving only him, Erza and other prisoners as the only ones left. Natsu sighed and turned around to look back at Erza. "I'm bored..." Erza sweat dropped at his statement.

"It's your fault..." She responded as Natsu gawked at her.

"What?" He shouted in surprise. "Oh...that's right..." The two became silent. "I'm still bored."

"Urusai!"

* * *

><p>"Everyone! We're back!" Natsu roared as he opened the door to the guild, with Erza right behind him. The guild all put on cheerful faces at the arrival of their comrades.<p>

"Natsu! Erza!" Happy exclaimed and flew toward them, giving Natsu a hug. "You're both alive!"

"Haha, of course we are!" Natsu replied. "What made you think we'd die?"

"Because everyone was talking about how the council does this and that and I thought you died." Happy exclaimed.

"What the hell is this and that?" Natsu asked.

"Don't mind him, Natsu." Lucy chuckled patting Happy's head. "It's good to see you two back!" She smiled at them.

"It's good to be back." Erza replied with her own smile and walked over to sit down. After everything that happened today, she was tired and she needed to rest.

"It's so great to be outside than in that stupid cell!" Natsu laughed. "Hey Mira-chan! I'm hungry!" Mirajane smiled at him and nodded and went to the back to get a fresh order of Natsu's favorite food.

"So, what happened?" Elfman asked.

"Hmm? Not much...we were stuck in that cell for a while before being released." Natsu answered, grinning.

"They should have kept you in there a little longer." Gray teased, chuckling.

"What was that ice boy?" Natsu growled.

"You heard me fire breath!" Gray retorted back as they glared at each other.

"You guys do know that Erza is still here." Elfman interjected and the two of them froze in fear. They both put an arm around each other and turned toward Erza.

"We're not fighting Erza! We were just having a nice debate..." Gray said as Natsu nodded his head.

"Aye!" Natsu added, sounding like Happy.

"Ah! It's a second Happy!" Lucy commented.

"I see...two friends debating over something is good." Erza told them as they nodded their head furiously.

"Yep! I-It sure is...Erza..." Gray agreed.

"Here you go, Natsu!" Mirajane called as she came back with a plate of Natsu's favorite foods. Natsu got excited and ran over to the bar as she placed the food made of fire on the bar and Natsu started chowing down.

"Swo gwood!" Natsu said with food in his mouth. Mirajane giggled at the comment. She then heard Makarov groan and looked over to him in confusion.

"What's wrong, Master?" She asked.

"Nothing...just feeling a little sleepy..." He answered as he stared at the door. "...it's him." Mirajane wasn't sure what the Master was talking about before she suddenly felt drowsy. She then felt really tired and started falling forward, only to be caught by Natsu before she banged her head against the bar table.

'He's here...' Natsu thought as he leaned her head against the boxes behind the bar.

"This is..." Gray groaned as he felt sleepy as well and Elfman yawning next to him wasn't helping. The two of them fell asleep instantly as so did the other members of the guild. Even Erza was affected by the magic spell as she fell to the ground and fell asleep. Soon, everyone was sprawled all over the guild in a deep sleep as the only people who were still awake were Makarov and Natsu. However, Natsu did his best to stay awake as he forgot just how powerful his sleep magic was. Even so, he stood up and looked over to the door. He then appeared.

Mystogan walked through the doors of Fairy Tail. He noticed all his comrades that fell asleep due to his magic, but walked past them, not turning his head from Makarov. When he got closer to the Master of Fairy Tail, he noticed that there was another person who wasn't asleep like the others and was quite surprised to see that it was Natsu. "Natsu?" Mystogan spoke. Natsu grinned at him.

"Yo, Mystogan! How's it hanging?" He told him raising a hand to greet him. "You shouldn't put your comrades to sleep like this." He chuckled.

"I heard you were gone for two years. I don't know what you did, but to be able to withstand my sleep magic is quite impressive." He said, turning around to walk toward the request board.

"Yeah...but I still feel a bit tired...it's sure is a strong spell." Natsu complimented as Mystogan took a request from the board and walked over to Makarov. Makarov watched as he placed his request on the bar table he sat on. "Hey Mystogan! Let's fight!" Natsu smirked.

"Sorry, Natsu...but I can't stay..." Natsu pouted.

"Booo!" Natsu pointed his thumb down in dissatisfaction.

"That's enough, Natsu." Makarov told him. "You may have defeated Erza, but I doubt you could beat Mystogan."

"Huh? Natsu defeated Erza?" Mystogan asked turning his concealed head toward the sleeping Ex-quip mage.

"You know it!" Natsu grinned proudly. "But how do you know If I never fought Mystogan before!" Natsu pointed his finger at Makarov.

"Don't get me wrong, Natsu. I would love to fight you, but I just can't do it now." Mystogan told him. "I'm heading out." He told Makarov, grabbing the request paper and turned around to leave.

"Oi! Remove your sleep magic!" Makarov yelled.

"5...4..." Mystogan started counting down. "3...2...1..." He then left through the doors and disappeared as Natsu felt the sleeping spell slowly going away. The others instantly woke up as they felt that familiar sensation they always felt when Mystogan came by.

"Ugh..this feeling...was it Mystogan!"

"That punk!"

"His sleep magic is so powerful!"

"Mystogan? Lucy asked, feeling a bit drowsy.

"He's one of the strongest mage candidates in Fairy Tail." Loke answered her as she looked up at him in shock. Loke gawked at her before backing away from her.

"Yeah...for some reason, he hates being seen, so he always puts us to sleep whenever he comes to pick a job." Gray explained to her.

"What the? That sounds fishy..." Lucy reacted in surprise.

"That's why only Master knows Mystogan's face." He added.

"No...I know it as well." The guild members all made noises in surprise at the new voice that rang throughout the guild. They all looked up to the second floor to see Laxus smirking down at them, with a cigar at the end of his mouth.

"Laxus!"

"You're here!"

"How unusual!"

"Who is he?" Lucy asked as Gray sighed and laid his head on the palm of his hand.

"He's Laxus, another candidate for the strongest mage in Fairy Tail." Gray answered. Laxus chuckled.

"Mystogan is really shy. Don't question him." Laxus told them. "Besides...the person you should be questioning is out friendly neighborhood dragon slayer over there, who managed to stay awake when Mystogan came by." The entire guild all turned their heads to Natsu in shock as he started eating his food again. He sensed their gazes at him and turned his body toward them, food in both of his hands. He stared back at them before stuffing the remaining food in his mouth and gulped it all down.

"Are you serious...?" Gray asked in shock.

"Of course...the Old Man can back me up...right?" Laxus smirk grew, eying his grandfather. Makarov closed his eyes and nodded.

"EEEHHHH!" The guild all shouted.

"Are you serious?"

"How the hell did he do that?"

"Did you see his face, Natsu?"

"What is he like?

The guild members started bombarding Natsu with questions as he sweat dropped. He didn't know which one to answer first. In fact, he wasn't sure if he should answer them at all. While on his two year training trip, he managed to find someone to help him with sleep magic, and granted that Mystogan's spell was more powerful than any of the other spells, but he did learn enough to withstand even his. At least, he hoped he did and was glad that he was able to. Natsu ignored their questions and looked up at Laxus with a glare and he chuckled in response.

"It's good to see you back here...Natsu...but I must ask where in the world have you been doing these past two years." Laxus said. "It really is intriguing after all. I mean you defeated Erza, which to me isn't much a feat, but also to be able to withstand Mystogan's sleep magic, now that's impressive." Erza felt anger growing in her at his comment as the flames around her body showed how angry she was.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" She growled, glaring at him.

"Calm down Erza." Natsu told her as she looked at him. "Hey, Laxus! You suck!" He told him, sticking his tongue out.

Laxus felt a vein pop in his head at the way Natsu was treating him. "You shithead..." Laxus growled. "Don't get so cocky after I praised you..."

"I don't need your praise..." Natsu replied back. Laxus started laughing, finding his new attitude amusing.

"I'll admit I find it funny how you think you can talk to me like you're on my level..." Laxus chuckled. "But don't think I'm as easy as Erza." Erza glared at him again. "If you want, we can settle this right here and right now...so why don't you come up here and we'll do just that." Natsu glared up at him.

"I've been meaning to talk to you about that Natsu..." Natsu made a noise in surprise as he turned to Makarov. Makarov opened his eyes and turned his head. "I've been thinking and I know it's not how we do it, but after you were able to withstand Mystogan's sleep magic as well as you did...it made my decision even easier." The entire guild became silent as their Master spoke. He had such a serious face that whatever he was about to say next was going to be very important. Some gulped nervously from the suspense. After a short wait, Makarov spoke again. "I've decided...to promote you to an S-Class Mage."

Natsu's eyes widened in shock at what he told him. The others also had expressions of shock on their faces. None of them, would have expected their Master to say such a thing. It was so shocking that no one was able to find the words to say anything. Some of them felt like they lost their voice. "W-What...?" Natsu spoke, shocked at his decision.

"I mean it...Natsu...I've decided to promote you." Makarov repeated, staring back at him showing no signs on his face to tell him that he was joking around. Natsu knew he wasn't. He knew the Old Man wouldn't joke around about something like this. Natsu felt conflicted. On one hand, he was excited and overjoyed that he finally the chance to become a S-Class Mage. He always wanted to join the ranks that Erza, Mirajane, Gildarts, Mystogan and even Laxus achieved. Then came the other problem. He wasn't an S-Class Mage in the past. Before he was even sent to the past by Zeref, he wasn't an S-Class Mage. He knew that he would get really strong after the two year training trip, but he didn't figure that the Old Man would promote him like this. Natsu wanted to become an S-Class Mage, but he was afraid that if he did so so soon than it would change the events of the future even more.

Natsu clenched his fists tightly as he came up with a decision. He stared at the Master of Fairy Tail with a serious face. Makarov saw this and he waited for what Natsu was about to say. This decision was not that hard to make after what happened the past few days. After he saw how Natsu progressed over the past two years, the destruction he caused at Oshibana, his win against Erza and the ability to withstand Mystogan's spell magic that not even Erza was able to, made his choice clear. Makarov knew this wasn't how they normally promote members to such a rank, but he felt it had to be done. Now, he waited for Natsu's response, which he figured to be that of excitement.

"I'm sorry...Old Man...but I can't accept it..." Makarov's eyes widened in shock. Everyone was shocked by Natsu's decision. Natsu hid his face behind his bangs so that none of them could see the conflicting emotions he showed through his face. Makarov was sure Natsu would be dancing and yelling in celebration. He was sure that Natsu would be making this guild all lively again with his fiery antics. But he declined a promotion that he knew Natsu wanted. It just didn't make any sense.

"Natsu..." Makarov spoke to him. "Why are you declining?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at him.

"Yeah, Natsu!"

"You can finally be a S-Class Mage!"

"Are you an idiot?"

"Natsu..." Happy muttered, frowning at his friend.

"Sorry...I just can't..." Natsu told them and started walking toward the exit. Everyone stared at him with their own frowns as Natsu left the guild. Happy followed his friend out leaving the guild quiet.

"Hahahaha! Were you really considering him to be an S-Class Mage?" Laxus laughed, earning some glares from the others. "Yo really must be becoming senile old man!" Makarov ignored him and continued to stare at the doors that Natsu left through. Something was wrong and he knew it. He had his suspicions, but Natsu declining the promotion only intensified them. He had to admit that he did find it weird. He didn't look much into it at first, but he was curious as to why Natsu decided to go on a two year training trip. He knew Natsu wanted to be strong, but to go on a trip like that was not like him at all. He had to look into it. "But still...I must say that I am impressed at how strong he has become." Laxus added. "But, it doesn't matter...because I am the strongest mage in this guild and I won't lose to anyone!"

"Shut up!" Erza yelled, surprising some as she glared at him. "I will only tell you this once...Natsu is stronger than you!" Laxus glared back at her and bit down on the cigar in his mouth, as it fell. Laxus felt anger build up at her words. Erza wasn't lying. She knew after seeing what Natsu did back at Oshibana, the Dragon Metamorphosis. He was stronger than her. She will admit that. However, she also knew that Natsu was stronger than Laxus. She could tell that Natsu didn't go all out on the monster that transformed from Lullaby. She wondered just how strong he was, but she also hoped she never get to see it. Natsu's life was on the line by using that technique and she didn't want to see what would happen if he kept on using it all the time.

"What did you say...?" Laxus growled at her. Erza wasn't fazed by his glare. Why should she be?

"I-I agree with Erza..." Everyone turned their heads in shock at Lucy. She didn't know why she said it, but she did. She tried her best to stay strong, but she did feel a little fear at the glare that Laxus was now giving her.

"Lucy..." Erza whispered her name in shock and then smiled at her bravery.

"Oh...?" Laxus narrowed his eyes at her. "And just who the hell are you?" Lucy made a slight noise in fear at his glare, but she knew she had to stand her guard against him.

"I-I'm Lucy! I'm a new mage that joined Fairy Tail a couple of days ago..." She introduced herself. Laxus continued to glare at her and Lucy did her very best to stand her ground. "...and I really do think Natsu is stronger than anyone."

"Hmph, whatever. It doesn't matter what any of you say. I am the strongest mage in this guild and I'll never give that position to anyone." Laxus told them before turning around and walking away from the balcony and out of sight. Lucy let out a sigh and felt herself falling back down to her seat.

"I'm impressed...Lucy." Erza told her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You sure do have some guts."

"T-Thank you..." She blushed slightly at the praise.

"I don't like it..." Gray grumbled. "Why does that idiot get a promotion when I'm better than him." Erza chuckled as she turned her head toward the door that Natsu left through.

"And I'm better than you and him!" Elfman argued, crossing his arms. Gray's eyebrow twitched. Soon, the guild became rowdy again as the events that transpired in their guild was gone.

* * *

><p>"Natsu! Wait up!" Happy called out to his friend. Natsu stopped walking and turned around to allow his feline friend to catch up. Once he did, he landed on the ground in front of him. "Natsu...why did you decline?" Happy asked.<p>

Natsu frowned and turned away from his friend. "Sorry, Happy...but I can't even tell you..." Happy frowned.

"But...I thought we were friends..." He said, his ears drooping down.

"We are!" Natsu suddenly yelled, surprising Happy. "Sorry...we are Happy...but it's just something that I can't go around telling people about."

"Oh? You mean like a super secret?" Natsu chuckled.

"Yeah...just like that..." Happy nodded at his friend in understanding. Natsu smiled down at his friend and knelt down to pat him on the head. He then decided to ask Happy to do that. "Hey, Happy...I want you to do me a favor..." Happy looked up at him in wonder.

* * *

><p>"That was brave of you, Lucy." She complimented her as Lucy thanked her, Plue shaking like he always does, next to her.<p>

"Say Mira-chan..." Lucy began as Mirajane looked at her in wonder. "What's up on the second floor?"

"It's still too early for you, Lucy." Mirajane began and then looked up to the second floor. "But the request board up there has far more dangerous and difficult jobs compared to the jobs here on the first floor. They're S-Class jobs."

"Huh?" Lucy exclaimed in shock. "S-Class!" Plue was just as shocked as Lucy was.

"They're so dangerous that even the smallest mistake can lead to your death, but the pay is good." Mirajane told her as Lucy sweat dropped.

"Uwahhh!" Lucy responded to the info.

"Only mages that have been approved by the Master can do these jobs." Mirajane added.

"Huh? So then...if Natsu didn't decline the promotion then..." Mirajane nodded her head.

"Yeah...but it was weird..."

"Huh? What do you mean, Mira-chan?" Lucy asked noticing the worried expression she showed.

"Well...Natsu always wanted to be stronger. He wanted to become an S-Class Mage because he believed that being an S-Class Mage meant that he would be the strongest and with that strength he could protect his friends. It's just weird to see him decline a promotion that he strived for." Mirajane explained with a sad smile. Lucy frowned and looked down.

"The Master mentioned something about not doing it like this...what did he mean?" Lucy asked.

"Oh...he was talking about how a member of the guild becomes an S-Class Mage." Mirajane told her. "The Master doesn't always just promote someone to that rank. We usually do this other thing to promote them, but it's too early to tell you about that." Lucy raised an eyebrow in confusion, but understood why Mirajane wouldn't tell her. She saw how late it was and decided to call it a day and go home. She said goodbye to Mirajane and the others and headed home.

Along with Plue, she balanced herself on the stepping stones near the river, making sure not to fall. "I heard of Mystogan and Laxus before. Fairy Tail is a great guild." She said to Plue. "Now I can finally understand the chain of command in Fairy Tail..." Lucy smirked as she drew a chart of the power rankings of the guild. She grinned. "I'll work even harder starting tomorrow!" She shouted as Plue yelled along with her.

Lucy finally reached her home and as soon as she opened the door, someone greeted her. "Yo! Welcome back!"

"Welcome!"

"KYAAAHHH!" Lucy screamed in shock at the sight of Natsu and Happy exercising on her bed. She immediately kicked Natsu in the face. "You're sweat stinks! Why don't the two of you go home and exercise?"

"But we're a team, aren't we?" Natsu told her. "Here this is yours!" He grinned and showed her a pink dumbbell.

"You like pink, don't you Lucy?" Happy added.

"What the hell am I going to do with dumbbells?" She yelled at them. She sighed from all the exhaustion she felt from today. She opened her eyes to look at Natsu and noticed that he had no article of clothing above his waist and blushed. She was able to see his well toned muscles and she had to admit that he did kind of look...hot. She immediately shook her head at such a thought.

"What's wrong?" Natsu asked, noticing her shake her head. He also noticed her face was red, but before he could ask, she spoke.

"Nothing!" She shouted, turning around to avoid looking at him. "Why?" She suddenly asked as Natsu raised an eyebrow.

"Hmm? Why what?"

"Why did you decline the chance to be an S-Class Mage?" She clarified. Natsu stared at her before lowering his head, concealing his eyes with the bangs of his hair. Natsu stayed silent for a while as Happy looked at his friend with a frown and concerned eyes. When he didn't respond, Lucy turned her head around to look at him. "Natsu?"

"It's because..." Natsu started as he raised his head. Lucy's eyes widened. "...it's boring..." He pouted as Happy and Lucy fell to the floor from the shock.

"What kind of reason is that?" Lucy shouted at him.

"I think its a pretty good reason." He responded.

"No it's not! How could you decline a chance to be an S-Class mage of Fairy Tail! Wasn't that what you wanted?" Lucy shouted. Natsu's eyes widened slightly. "Mira-chan told me that you wanted to stronger so that you can protect everybody! So..why?"

"She's right about that..." Natsu muttered. "I do want to become stronger so I can protect everyone...but I realized that, a title won't give me strength. It's only a title and it doesn't make you stronger." Lucy looked at him in awe at his reason. He looked back at her and pouted once again. "It's also boring." Lucy sweat dropped.

"Okay then, why is it boring?" Lucy asked.

"Because, I'm not the only one who wants to be an S-Class Mage." Natsu told her.

"Aye! There's Gray, Elfman, Loke and a whole bunch of our friends." Happy agreed.

"It would be best to fight it out amongst each other so that we can see who is strong enough to be a S-Class Mage. It's way too boring to just be given to me without everyone else getting a chance to fight for it." Natsu explained, grinning.

"I see..." Lucy sighed and suddenly felt extremely tired.

"Oh, by the way..." Natsu spoke as he took out a piece of paper from his pant's pocket. "We're doing an S-Class job." He grinned at her and showed her the job request.

"WHAT?" Lucy shouted in horror. "H-HOW DID YOU GET THAT?"

"Happy borrowed it from the second floor." Natsu told her.

"Aye!"

"You mean you took it without anyone knowing!" Lucy shouted, correcting him.

"You could say that..." Natsu stood up and put the job request on her table. "But...you should pack quickly because we leave in ten minutes." Lucy gawked at him and started pushing both him and Happy toward the door.

"I'm not doing an S-Class job! I'm too young to die!" She yelled at him.

"But I picked this one out because I thought you would like to do it." Happy told her. Lucy stopped pushing them and forced them to turn around.

"What are you talking about?" Lucy asked.

"It's because the reward is not only Jewels, but a golden key similar to the ones you have." Lucy's eyes widened and she ran over to her table to look at the paper. She picked it up and read it carefully. It was then that she saw it. A golden Zodiac key was definitely a reward.

"Natsu..."

"What?" He asked. He grinned knowing what she was going to say.

"Let's go!" She turned around with a new look of determination and pumped her fist in the air.

"Yeah!"

"Aye!"

**To Be Continued...**

* * *

><p><strong>Author's <strong>**Notes:** Well, here is a new chapter for you guys. I hope you like it and I'm planning on showing you guys something in the next chapter. It's not going to be the story, but something I've been working on when I'm not writing an fanfics. I'm talking about a drawing I drew that is related to this fic. So...I guess that's it and thanks to all those who reviewed! Until next time!


	10. Natsu And Co Visit The Cursed Island

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related which includes the characters of Fairy Tail.

**Rated M for future lemons! You have been warned!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 10: Natsu and Co. Visit The Cursed Island<strong>

"Oh no!" Mirajane's voice of worry and horror rang out throughout the guild as everyone stopped what they were doing and turned their heads to the stairs. "Master! One of the S-Class jobs is missing!"

Makarov did a spit take and splashed his booze all over the place, wetting some of the guild members in front of him. However, they didn't care as they were as shocked as he was. "W-What?"

"Oh…that's right…I remember now…I saw a cat snatch it away…yeah…one with wings actually…" Laxus smirked and leaned back against his chair, arms crossed and feet on the table.

"Happy!" Mirajane turned around in shock.

"That means that Natsu and Lucy are also responsible?"

"What are they thinking?"

"I knew they were stupid, but this…"

"He just went ahead and took one of the S-Class jobs?"

"That doesn't make any sense! He first refuses his promotion and now he does something like this! Just what the hell is going on with him?"

Makarov agreed. Something was off. Why would Natsu turn down a promotion to become a S-Class mage and then suddenly take a S-Class job? Something was going on and whatever it was, he had to find out. He knew he wasn't going to get anything from Natsu, so asking him about it was out of the question.

"Hey, Geezer! They broke an unprincipled rule, right? That means when they come back they'll get expelled…" He then started to laugh. "…not that it matters since they're going to die anyway!"

"Laxus! If you knew about this, then why didn't you stop them?" Mirajane yelled at him.

"Oh? Don't blame me…I just thought it was some thieving cat with a piece of paper in its mouth…" Laxus replied, smirking. "How could I have known that the cat was Happy and that Natsu was going to do an S-Class job? I mean what kind of you idiot turns down a promotion and then runs off to do an S-Class Job…haha what an idiot!" He laughed. Mirajane became angry at the way he was badmouthing Natsu. Not only that, but she found it terrible that this man, who was in the same guild as all of them, would act like this toward his comrades. It made her angry, but worse, sick to her stomach. "Oh…" Laxus commented as he looked at the very angry face Mirajane was making, bringing flashbacks to the days she was called the 'Demon of Fairy Tail'. "I haven't seen that face in a long time."

"Mira-chan…what job was taken?" Makarov asked.

Mirajane turned halfway so that she could still glare at Laxus while answering his question. "The Cursed Garuna Island job."

"I see…" Makarov sighed and closed his eyes. "…there is no need to worry then." The guild all gave him confused looks as even Laxus and Mirajane were surprised by his reaction.

"Master?" She asked.

"Even if he did decline the promotion, Natsu is still considered to be an S-Class Mage. A job like this, shouldn't be much of a problem." He replied.

"Oi, Geezer! You know something about that idiot, don't you?" Laxus asked.

"I do, but I don't have to tell you anything." Makarov reply angered Laxus.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" He angrily asked.

"Master…" Mirajane whispered, feeling worried.

"Mira-chan…if you're really that worried then I'll send someone to make sure they get back here alive." Makarov told her and then looked at Gray. "Gray! Go follow them."

"Huh? Me?" Gray pointed his finger at himself.

"If you don't want to, then I could send someone else who can join them on this S-Class job." He said.

"That's an unforgivable insult, Master." Gray said standing up. "I'll go and show to you that I'm too capable of doing an S-Class job." He told him. "I won't lose to that idiot!" Makarov smirked as Gray played straight into his trap. He nodded.

"Alright then, go!" With a nod, Gray ran off.

Mirajane looked at the door Gray used and still felt worried over the safety of Natsu and the others. 'Lucy, Happy, Gray...Natsu…please come back safely…'

* * *

><p>"Uwaaahh! I haven't been here for a while!" Lucy exclaimed. She put her hand above her forehead to shield her eyes from the sun to take in the view of the town that she first met Natsu, Harujion. "This is where we first met, right?"<p>

"Yeah...but it hasn't been that long..." Natsu replied.

"Old Lady, Lucy..." Happy put his paw in front of his mouth and puffed his cheeks to prevent laughter from escaping his mouth.

"Urusai!" She shouted at Happy. She sighed. "Alright then, first things first...we have to find a ship that'll take us to Garuna Island." She told them.

"Huh? But I thought we decided that we were going to swim there?" Natsu replied.

"Aye!" Happy agreed.

"When did we decide that?" Lucy shouted at them in response. "Besides, that's impossible. Let's just go and find a ship."

"Fine..." Natsu grumbled and followed Lucy to the port.

"Garuna Island? Get out of here! I'm not going anywhere near that island."

"No way! I don't even want to hear that name."

"That island is taboo amongst the sailors in this town."

"There's a curse: it's just too fishy."

"I don't know what you guys plan on finding there, but no sailor wants to go there. Not even pirates go near it." The last fisherman answered negatively for Lucy's request. Lucy sighed and sat down on the stone ledge.

"Nooo..." Lucy groaned.

"See...I told you we should have swim there." Natsu told her, sitting down next to her.

"Aye!"

"I said that's impossible!" Lucy yelled at them.

"You would be crazy to swim all the way to that island." The fisherman from before interjected. "It's suicide, especially with the sharks that live in these waters."

"I'm not scared of some wussy sharks! I'll fry them!" Natsu fired back and pumped his fist in the air.

"You do know your fire won't work in water, right?" Lucy sighed.

"So then I'll just punch them in the nose." Natsu told her.

"Aye!"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Lucy smacked them in the head. Natsu rubbed the back of his head and sat back down. "We can't swim there, period!" She put her foot down.

"Then how do you expect us to get there?" Natsu asked.

"I-I don't know..." Lucy frowned. Natsu sighed and turned to face forward. He then smirked.

"Maybe Gray might know..."

"Huh?" Both Happy and Lucy blinked in confusion at Natsu.

"What?" Happy and Lucy turned their heads in shock at the voice. "How the hell did you know I was here?"

"Gray!" Happy and Lucy both shouted in shock. Gray scowled at Natsu.

"You smell." Natsu responded.

"You bastard..." Gray growled.

"I'm guessing you're here to bring us back for stealing that S-Class job?" Natsu asked, scowling.

"Nope! I'm here to join you on this job and make sure you come back alive!" Gray smirked, not telling them that the Master told him to do it. Natsu was surprised by this. "This is my chance to prove to the Master that I am capable of being an S-class Mage and unlike dragon boy here, I won't decline a promotion." Gray narrowed his eyes at Natsu. Natsu scowled at the smirk his rival was giving him.

"Yeah...I doubt that..." He replied, putting his hands behind his head.

"What was that?" Gray growled. He raised his fist to threaten Natsu.

"I said you suck!" He stuck his tongue at him.

"That's it! I'm going to kick your ass!"

"Just try it!" Natsu and Gray gritted their teeth at each other. Lucy sighed.

"Not this again..." She sighed once more. She felt a headache coming and pressed her fingers against her head, hoping it would stop the headache.

"Get ready to eat my ice!" Gray growled and ice started forming around his fist.

"Bring it on!" Natsu yelled, igniting his fist into flames.

"Magic?" The fisherman whispered, watching the argument between the two. "Are you mages?" The four of them turned their heads at his question. "Are you here to stop the curse?"

"YEAH!" Both Gray and Natsu shouted, which caused the two to glare at each other again.

"Will you two knock it off?" Lucy shouted at them and pushed them away from each other. She then looked at the fisherman. "Yeah...we are..." She told him. "Although...it looks like it would be a pain in the ass with these two..." She made a side comment while making an irritated face.

"I see..." The fisherman spoke, shaking a bit. "...hop in."

"Alright!" Natsu cheered.

"Really?" Lucy exclaimed in happiness.

"Yosh!" Gray pounded his fist into his hand.

"Aye!"

"Let's go! To the S-Class Island!" Natsu cheered as the four of them got onto the boat. "Ugh..." Natsu instantly succumbed to his motion sickness as the boat hasn't even sailed yet.

"That's really sad..." Lucy sweat dropped.

"Ha! What a loser!" Gray mocked.

"Is he going to be okay?" The fisherman asked.

"Aye! Don't mind him! Let's set sail!" Happy answered.

"Huh? A talking cat?" The fisherman gawked.

Soon, the boat set sail toward Garuna Island. Happy happily sat on the front of the boat, hoping to be able to see the island coming into his view any second. Natsu groaned against the railing of the boat, his hands in the water as he tried his best not to vomit. Gray rested against the edge of the boat, his hands behind his head and Lucy had her legs pressed to her chest and started shivering. Not from the cold, but from the anxiety she was feeling.

"I'm getting this creepy feeling..." Lucy stuttered, wrapping her arms around her legs, hoping it would stop the anxiety.

"Why did you come anyway?" Gray asked, opening an eye and looking at her.

"Because the reward..." Lucy answered. Gray looked at her in surprise.

"Really? Didn't think you were that shallow..." Lucy narrowed her eyes at him.

"Says the guy who is only doing this because he wants to be an S-Class Mage..." Gray flinched slightly.

"A-Anyway...why did you decide to change your mind and let us on?" Gray asked the fisherman. There was a silent pause.

"My name is Bobo." He finally spoke. "I once lived on that island..."

"What?" Lucy asked in surprise.

"Weird name..." Gray whispered a side comment.

"...but I escaped from that cursed island." He continued, ignoring the side comment he heard.

"What kind of curse is it?" Happy asked, turning his head.

"Ugh..." Natsu groaned as the fisherman pondered if he should show them. He made a decision.

"Misfortune will befall on those who go to the Cursed Island." He told them. "Can you guys really get rid of this curse...? This demonic curse..." He showed them his arm and they gasped at it, except for Natsu who groaned in pain again. Lucy gasped. Gray and Happy's eyes widened in shock.

"Ossan...that arm..." Gray muttered in disbelief.

"The curse...you mean..." Lucy muttered. The fisherman nodded his head and then noticed an island in the distance. "There it is..." He told them and they turned their heads to where he was looking and saw the island. "Garuna Island."

"Woah..." Lucy and Happy both looked in awe. "Hey, Oji-san..." Lucy turn around to ask her question, but he was gone. Lucy, Happy and Gray's eyes widened in shock. "Eh? W-Where did he go?"

"Did he fall?" Gray panicked and looked down into the water. Happy jumped in and searched for the fisherman, but he was no where. Happy rose back up.

"He's not here!" Happy told them. Gray and Lucy started to panic more.

"W-What the hell is going on?" Lucy exclaimed.

"W-Wave..." Lucy and Gray turned around.

"You say something, Natsu?" Lucy asked. Natsu struggled to get his hand up, but when he did, he pointed his finger.

"B-Big...ugh...w-wave..." He repeated and then slumped his arm back down from his sickness.

"Eh?" The three all blinked at him as they felt the boat start to rise. Gray and Lucy eye's widened in horror as a huge tidal wave formed, carrying the ship up with it. "KYAAAHHH! TIDAL WAVE!" Lucy screamed.

"Shit! It's pulling us in!" Gray panicked.

"Happy! Quick! Lift this boat up and fly!" Lucy ordered the feline cat with wings.

"That's impossible!" He gawked at her.

"Ugh...Natsu groaned in between their discussion as the tidal wave sucked them in. Lucy screamed in fear. Gray cursed and Natsu groaned again, his eyes turning into two swirls. The four of them were sucked in by the tidal wave.

* * *

><p>"Oi...Lucy..." Natsu patted her cheeks to get her to wake up. She let out a moan, but didn't wake up. He felt relieved at the response. She was fine. He tried shaking her. "Lucy...wake up..." It didn't work. He felt slightly irritated. He placed a hand on her back and raised her body so that it looked like she was sitting up. He then put his hands on her shoulders and started shaking her violently. "Wake up!" He stopped shaking her and he realized that he just made it worse as her eyes were now two big swirls. 'Crap...' Natsu sweat dropped. He sighed. 'What should I do...?' He turned his head around over to the two unconscious bodies of his rival Gray, and his feline friend Happy. "Man...come one Lucy! Wake up!" He tried slapping her lightly in the face to wake her up. Unfortunately he slapped her way too much and she got mad. So, she slapped him back, returning all the pain she felt after getting slapped around silly by the pink haired Dragon Slayer.<p>

"Knock it off!" She yelled. Natsu groaned and felt on his back from the force of the slap. His right cheek became red from the attack. Lucy realized what she did and started apologizing to him. "Ah! I'm sorry, Natsu!" Natsu put a hand on his swollen cheek and sat up.

"It's fine..." He told her, his voice slightly muffled by his swollen cheek. "I'm just glad you're finally awake." He grinned at her. She blushed slightly and avoiding eye contact with him. She then noticed that she was on a beach, a jungle right behind her.

"W-Where...?" She asked and looked at her surroundings.

"We're here on Garuna Island." Natsu answered her question. He stood up and then walked over to Happy. "Oi...Happy...wake up!" He shook him.

"Garuna Island...?" Lucy whispered. She looked around before setting her eyes on her body to see if anything changed. After seeing what happened to the fisherman, she wanted to make sure nothing like that happened to her. Luckily for her, nothing happened. She sighed in relief and looked over at Natsu who managed to wake Happy up.

"Natsu...is this...heaven...?" Happy weakly asked. Natsu smirked devilishly as he thought of a good practical joke to play on his friend.

"No..." He answered with a tone that would scare little kids into comas. "...this is the other side! Wuahahahaha!" Lucy sweat dropped as Happy screamed in horror. He then fell into another state of unconsciousness as foam formed in the corner of his mouth. Natsu chuckled. "Just kidding!" He told him, but Happy was unresponsive. Natsu started sweating in nervousness. Hen then panicked. "Gah! Happy! I was only kidding! Wake up!" He started shaking the feline cat vigorously. Lucy couldn't take it anymore and decided to step in.

"Would you stop that?" She yelled and then hit Natsu over the head. She grabbed Happy and pulled his coma like state closer to her. "Come on...Happy...wake up..." She said nicely and the feline cat started opening his eyes. "Happy!" She grinned at him.

"Lucy..." He muttered. "I see...if I see you then I must be alive!" Lucy didn't know why, but his comment sort of pissed her off.

"Y-Yeah..." Lucy responded with a lopsided smile.

"Ugh...what the hell?" The three of them turned to Gray as he finally woke up. Gray put a hand on his head and looked back to the others. "You guys okay?"

"What...? You're alive..." Natsu pouted in disappointment.

"YOU WANTED ME TO DIE?" Gray yelled at his rival in anger.

"Now...now..." Lucy tried to calm them down. "Let's just go find this town..." Lucy told them.

"Yosh! Let's go explore!" Natsu shouted and started stomping toward the jungle.

"Aye!" Happy hopped out of Lucy's arms and followed Natsu.

"We're here for a job! Not an expedition!" Lucy yelled at them.

"Geez...those two are so noisy..." Gray groaned in annoyance. Lucy giggled at his annoyance and the two followed Natsu and Happy, hopefully going in the right direction.

After searching through the jungle, making wrong turns several times due to Natsu playing pranks on them, he finally led them to their destination. Right in front of them was a large wooden gate that had a sign that read 'Keep Out' on it. "This is it...?" Lucy asked, tilting her head.

"Keep out...what kind of village is this?" Gray commented.

"Excuse us! Can you please open the door?" Lucy shouted but got no response.

"I'm bored..." Natsu grumbled. "Let's break it!"

"No!" Lucy yelled at him and smacked him over the head.

"Who's there?" A voice above them spoke. The four looked up to see two men standing above them.

"We're from the Mage Guild Fairy Tail!" Lucy responded for the group. "We...ermmm...saw your request and..."

"Fairy Tail?" One of the two men questioned. "We know nothing about you guys accepting our request."

"Well...ummm..." Lucy nervously responded.

"Well..it is understandable since Happy stole the job request..." Gray muttered.

"Borrowed..." Happy corrected him.

"Anyway...if they don't let us in we probably have to leave." Gray ignored Happy.

"Like hell I'm leaving!" Natsu yelled at him.

"Shut up..." Gray growled in irritation, leaning away from Natsu.

"Show me your symbols!" The second man ordered them. One by one the group showed their Fairy Tail marks.

"They look real..." One of the guards whispered to the other.

"Hmmm..." The other man hummed. "Strip the girl!"

"What?" Lucy gawked in shock. "Why do I have to?" She yelled at him while Gray, Happy and Natsu started stripping Lucy. She blushed in embarrassment as she smacked them away from her. She quickly put her clothes back to their place as the guard apologized.

"Sorry! I got carried away..." Lucy huffed in annoyance. "Get in! I'll go get the Mayor!" The guard told them and the four watched as the gate started rising. Natsu and his group entered the village and were greeted by another guard. He had his face covered by his cloak and motioned the four to follow him.

"Thank you for coming here, Mages." The Mayor of the village, named Mocha, thanked Team Natsu. He too was covered by a large cloak as the group of villagers behind him wore similar garments. The Mayor walked forward. "I'm sorry if this startles you all of a sudden, but please take a look at this." He then turned to the group behind him. "Everyone! Take off your cloaks!" On his command, they all removed their cloaks, revealing the effects of the curse that plagued the island.

"I knew it..." Gray muttered. Lucy gulped and checked herself to make sure none of her limbs were turned into one of those.

"Woah! Awesome sideburns!" Natsu roared in awe. The Mayor sweat dropped.

"N-No...I wanted to show you my arm..." Mocha corrected him. "Did it surprise you? Hoga."

"Not really..." Natsu whispered low enough that the Mayor didn't hear it.

"Everyone on this island..." Mocha continued. "...even the dogs and birds...are affected by this curse."

"I'm not questioning you here or anything, but..." Gray started. "...how do you know this is a curse? It could be some sort of disease."

"I have shown this arm to many doctors and each one said they never saw such a disease." He answered. "Also...the moon's 'Magical Power' is a factor in this curse." Lucy blinked at him in confusion.

"The moon's 'Magical Power'?" The Mayor nodded.

"Ever since ancient times, this island has accumulated moonlight. It made this island so beautiful that it shined like the moon." He explained. "However, a few years ago, the moonlight suddenly started to turn purple."

'Moon drip...' Natsu looked up to the sky. 'I wonder if I could destroy it now...nah probably impossible with them still using moon drip...'

"A purple moon? I never heard of that!" Lucy said.

"People from the mainland all say that..." The Mayor sighed. "But in reality...the moon did turn purple on this island. After the purple moon showed up, our bodies started to change." As he finished, the moon started to reveal itself in the night sky.

"Ah! The moon is up!" Happy exclaimed as everyone turned their heads up to check out this purple moon. Lucy gasped and placed her hands over her mouth in shock.

"It's true! The moon is really purple..." Gray cringed at the moon's creepiness.

"That is so creepy..." Natsu crossed his arms.

"This is the curse of the moon's 'Magical Power'." Suddenly, the whole village yelled in pain as they're bodies started changing.

"Eh? W-What is going on?" Lucy asked turning her head from one villager to the other. Her question was answered when every one of them turned into monsters. Natsu stared at them while his comrades all gawked in horror.

"Sorry that we scared you...but this is what happens to our bodies when the moon comes out." Mocha explained. "If this isn't a curse, then what is it? Once it becomes morning, everyone turns back to their original form. However, recently, there are those who don't change back and lose their soul."

"Lose their soul? Y-You don't mean..." Lucy frowned in sadness.

"We decided to kill anyone who'd lose their soul and turned into a real demon." Natsu didn't like that. Why would they do such a thing? Even if they're is at least a .001% chance, you shouldn't give up on someone. As long as the percentage isn't zero, then anything can happen.

"Listen old man!" Natsu retorted. "It doesn't matter if you're friend turns into a demon because of some curse, you should never kill your nakama! Even if they changed, as long as the chance of rescuing them or changing them back isn't zero, then anything is possible!" The Mayor's eyes widened at his words. Lucy, Gray and Happy were awe struck by his words.

"Natsu..." Lucy whispered his name, feeling her cheeks get warm a bit.

"I...I..." The Mayor was speechless.

"Don't worry! We'll get rid of this curse!" Natsu pumped his fist in the air and grinned.

"I see..." The Mayor responded. "I only wished my son could be here to hear you say those words." He then took out a photo of his son. Lucy's eyes widened at the photo of the fisherman that gave them the ride to this island. "I...I had to kill my own son. My own son who turned evil...I had no choice...I had to stop him from going berserk and killing everyone on this island...just like all those who turned into real demons." The demon Mayor cried at the memory.

"B-But yesterday...we..." Lucy tried telling him, but Gray stopped her by pointing a finger in front of her face.

"Shh...I guess now we know why he just vanished. I'm sure...he can't rest in peace like that." Gray told her. Lucy's eyes widened in realization.

'A-A g-ghost...' Natsu wanted to smirk, but he didn't want to be disrespectful because they didn't know the truth.

'Oh man...are they going to be in for a surprise...' He chuckled mentally at the image of Gray, Lucy and Happy's shocked faces.

"I acknowledge you as famous mages. Please...save our island..." He and the others bow their heads. "If this keeps going...everyone...will lose their soul...and turn into demons..."

"I won't let that happen!" Natsu told them and pointed his thumb at himself.

"Thank you." He raised his head. "The way to remove this curse...please destroy the moon!" The four all were stunned, Natsu pretending to do so.

"Say what?"

* * *

><p>"The more I look at the moon, the creepier it gets." Happy commented as he stared out the window toward the moon. Lucy turned her head to the cat while she unpacking her suitcase in the hut that the villagers gave them to use.<p>

"Happy! Hurry and close the window. Didn't you hear what the Mayor said?" Lucy told him.

"No." He answered, turning his head to stare at the Celestial Mage.

"He said if we get too much exposure of the moonlight, we'll turn into demons too!" Happy's mouth formed into an 'o' shape and closed the window.

"But how do they expect us to destroy the moon?" Gray questioned a she was now shirtless.

"Sounds impossible." Lucy said.

"Hmm? I wonder how many punches it would take." Natsu thought.

"YOU WERE ACTUALLY GOING TO TRY IT!" Gray gawked at him. "It's impossible, you idiot."

"I agree...no mage can do something like that." Lucy agreed.

'Maybe Zeref can...that bastard...' Natsu pouted at the thought. "But destroy the moon is the request this time. If we can't do that then it's a disgrace to Fairy Tail's name."

"Whatever is impossible remains impossible." Gray fired back. "First of all, how do you plan to get to the moon?"

"Happy!" Natsu answered.

"I can't do something like that."

"Destroy the moon is the solution that comes from the victim's point of view." Lucy frowned. "But just maybe...just maybe there might be a different way to get rid of this curse."

"I wish there was." Gray yawned and then collapsed to the floor, tired.

"Fine! Tomorrow we'll explore the island to see if there is another way! Let's just sleep tonight!" Natsu said while collapsing as well.

"Aye, sir!" Happy did the same.

"Yeah...we'll think about it tomorrow..." Gray grumbled, getting comfortable.

"Yeah...I'm sleepy too..." Lucy rubbed her eyes and then yawned. "Good night..." She told the three and laid down in between them. Soon, Gray, Happy and Natsu fell asleep, while Lucy had a hard time doing so. Lucy opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling with an irritated expression. 'How the hell am I supposed to sleep next to an animal, a pervert and a cat?' Lucy thought. She tried to fall asleep, but it wasn't going well. She turned her head to her right and saw Gray snoring away into the night, only in his boxers, which made it uncomfortable for her. Then she looked to her left and saw Natsu. Unlike Gray...Natsu had his back turned to her. This surprised her a bit. She imagined him being sprawled all over the place based on his attitude. She turned her head back forward and stared at the ceiling. She closed her eyes, hoping to get some sleep. Lucy felt herself about to go to sleep when she heard a noise next to her.

"No..." She opened her eyes and turned to Natsu. Her eyes widened when she saw his body slightly shaking. She sat up and moved her hand toward him.

"Natsu?" She whispered his name. "Are you oka-" She barely even touched him and the next thing she knew, she was staring straight up at Natsu as he hovered above her, his hands gripping her wrists. "W-Wha...?" She questioned in utter shock. She felt her cheeks get really hot in the position she was with Natsu and she figured her face must have been as red as a tomato. "N-Natsu...what are you...?"

"No..." He repeated again. Lucy blinked in confusion. She tried to get a good look of his face, but he had his head lowered so much that she could only see up to his forehead. His voice, however, told her all she needed to know about his facial expression. His voice had fear in it. What would Natsu be afraid of? It confused her. The only time she ever saw him show fear was when it had to do with Erza beating the crap out of him for fighting Gray or doing something stupid.

"N-Natsu..." She whispered his name again and it seemed to get a reaction from him. Natsu made a noise in surprise and raised his head to look down at Lucy. He blinked down at her.

"You're alive..." Lucy's eyes widened.

'W-What...? I'm...alive? Wha...what did he mean by that?' Lucy was confused. Why would he even say something like that. Did he have a nightmare and she died in it? Well, that would have sucked. What was more important though, was that she never seen Natsu so spooked about something. Granted she only known him for a couple of weeks now, but it felt like she known him for months. He was an idiot, but he was always happy. He never once shown a side of sadness or fear for as long as she's known him.

"That's good..." He muttered.

"Umm..Natsu...can you...?" She spoke nervously, avoiding eye contact with the Dragon Slayer. Natsu noticed the position they were in and immediately let go of her wrists.

"Sorry..." He apologized and got off her. He sat down on his side of the bed, his back turned to her again, and she sat up. She frowned at his back.

"Natsu..." She whispered again, feeling worried for her comrade.

"Sorry about that..." He apologized again. "I got caught by surprise when I felt someone touch me..." He explained his reason.

"It's alright..." She replied, believing him. She knew that there was no way he would do anything to a girl, especially something perverted or sexual harassment. He was just that type of guy. She wondered if he even knew about a female's anatomy. She doubted that. "Did you have a bad dream?" She asked. She noticed Natsu flinch a bit.

"Y-Yeah..." He replied after a short, silent pause.

"Do you want to talk about it? My mother always told me that it's best to talk about things like this..." She offered her ears.

"No..." He answered. Lucy felt a bit saddened at his answer. She didn't why, but she hoped he would talk to her about his dream. Was it that bad?

"Why...?" She asked.

"I just can't..." He told her. "Sorry for waking you up..." He laid back down on his side. Lucy frowned at his answer, but didn't pursue any further. If he didn't want to talk about it, then it was his choice. Although, she wished he did. She stared at him for a few minutes before laying down herself. She stared at the ceiling and then closed her eyes. She didn't get much sleep.

Natsu felt the movement of the sheets beneath him indicating that Lucy laid back down. It was the same nightmare. The same one he had last night. It was strange to see the same nightmare in back to back nights. It hadn't happen since some time in the first year of his training. He wondered if it had anything to do with making contact with Zeref. He didn't know, but he hoped the nightmares would go away. If they didn't, then he was afraid of the possible chance of him breaking and telling someone everything. He knew it would take a lot to break him, but something of this magnitude to him was huge. Lucy asked him if he wanted to talk to her about it, but he had to say no. He wanted to talk to someone about it, but he just couldn't. He closed his eyes. He felt sleep take over him and only hoped, he didn't have another bad dream.

* * *

><p>Natsu awoke the next morning tired. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. He looked around and saw that Lucy was awake. 'She's awake...oh...that's right...because of us she couldn't sleep...' He let out a yawn and it startled her a bit.<p>

"Good morning!" She smiled at him and he raised a hand to signal the same thing to her. Natsu stood up and walked over to her.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Oh...nothing!" She told him and quickly hid something behind her back. Natsu blinked at her in confusion.

"What are you hiding?" He asked.

"Nothing...nothing at all!" She answered rather swiftly.

Natsu narrowed his eyes at her. 'Hmm...the only reason she would do this is if she was writing her novel...ah...that must be it...' He yawned again. "Whatever...since the both of us are up already we should explore the island." He told her and turned around. "I'll go wake up those two." She nodded her head and watched him walk toward Gray and Happy. She took out what she was hiding behind her back and looked at it. It was a letter to her mother. She smiled warmly down at it, but the mood was soon ruined as she heard Gray's cry of pain.

"What the hell is the matter with you?" Gray yelled at Natsu as he rubbed his butt after it was slightly burned by Natsu's fire. "Can't you wake someone up like a normal person?"

"I wanted to, but this was more fun!" He chuckled.

"You asshole!" Gray yelled at him again.

"Oi Happy! Wake up!" Natsu told his feline friend, turning away from Gray.

"Don't ignore me!" Natsu ignored Gray as he walked toward Happy.

"Wake up!" He grabbed the cat's cheek and pulled it.

"Owowow!" Happy muttered in pain. Natsu let go of his cheek. Happy yawned and rubbed his cheek. "Why are we up so early?" He whined.

"Yeah...and why the hell did you have to wake us up?" Gray added.

"Put your clothes on, ice boy." Natsu told him.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Lucy sighed.

"Even in the mornings it's this loud." She looked over at Natsu and saw that he didn't show any signs of what happened last night. She knew he was probably only putting on a mask, but she didn't want to say anything to him. If he didn't want to talk about it, then she shouldn't pry.

"I thought yesterday we decided that destroying the moon was impossible." Happy said as the four of them traveled through the jungle.

"I only said that because they believe in it. It really is impossible." Gray told him.

"Oh...I see...that's a good idea from someone like you..." Gray glared at the cat in annoyance.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Natsu chuckled.

"He's saying your an idiot!"

"I don't want to hear that coming from you!" Gray yelled at him.

"'Guys, you might want to keep your voices down. We never know what's surrounding us.'...she says." The Celestial Spirit clock, that Lucy was in spoke her words.

"Why don't you walk on your own?" Natsu asked.

"Are you sure you're using your spirits correctly?" Gray added.

"'Urusai! Our opponent this time is a curse! Something unsubstantial is creepy.'...she says."

The two of them ignored her. "Waahhh! Let's go!" Natsu roared, becoming excited.

"Yeah...I'll just freeze the curse so don't freak out." Gray tried to reassure her, but it wasn't working.

"'You're really dumb'...she says."

"I want to go in too!" Happy told her. She opened the door for him and he entered. Suddenly, both Natsu and Gray heard some rustling and a quiet growl.

"Hmmm? What was that?" Gray asked. Natsu already knew and turned in the direction that the large rat came from. Gray, Lucy and Happy gawked at the size of the rat. "It's freaking huge!"

"'Guys...go beat him up!'...she says."

"'Aye!'...he says."

"I already did!" Natsu told her as he stood on top of the unconscious rat. The three of them were in shock.

"W-When did you...?" Gray's jaw dropped to the ground at the speed Natsu beat up the rat.

"About three seconds ago." He answered.

"'You got to be kidding me...'...she says."

"'Way to go, Natsu!'...he says."

"Hmmm?" Natsu looked in the direction of the ruins and pretended that he just found it. "Oi, there is some ruins over there! Let's go there!" He shouted, pointing his finger in the direction.

* * *

><p>When they arrived at the ruins, they entered and were struck in awe of the place. There wasn't much about the place. It was a total mess with broken walls, moss growing everywhere and the usual rat or two that scampered away at their appearance. "Wow...I wonder when this place was built?" Lucy commented.<p>

"It's spacious...I'll give it that." Natsu said, crossing his arms.

"It's shabby." Gray responded with his own comment.

"Hey, look at these weird drawings." Natsu pointed in the wall in front of them. "They look like moons."

"Well, this place was originally called Moon Island." Gray told him.

"Hmm...Moon Island, purple moon curse and now moon shapes...something is fishy." Lucy muttered, placing her hand under her chin in a thinking pose.

"Huh? Fish? Where?" Happy reacted at the word fish and started searching for his favorite food.

"No fish." Lucy told him. Happy frowned in disappointment. He then spotted a bone and ran over to it. He picked it up and then showed it to Lucy.

"Lucy, look!" Happy showed her the bone.

"What are you, a dog?" Lucy asked while sweat dropping.

"I wonder if this place is even sturdy..." Natsu wondered and started to stomp his foot on the ground.

"Don't do that!" Lucy yelled at him. He didn't stop because right below them was the monster that made Gray's teacher die. Not that he cared, but it was important for him to make sure the past stays the same. In due time, the ground beneath them crumbled. All four of them gawked in shock as they fell through the hole. "You idiot!"

"This floor got no guts!" Natsu yelled.

"Since when does a floor have guts!" Gray responded to his idiotic comment.

"Happy...can't you do something!" She turned to the flying cat, hoping he could help them. However, her eyes popped out of her head in shock as Happy started choking on the bone he found. "You're not supposed to eat that!"

The group crashed onto the ground of a cave that was hidden underneath the ruins, the rubble falling with them. Natsu popped out of the rubble and looked around for his nakama. "Hey! Are you guys okay?"

"Happy isn't! Although it's for a whole different reason..." Lucy said while trying to help Happy get rid of the bone stuck in his throat.

"Why do you always act on instinct, you idiot!" Gray muttered, rubbing his head in pain.

"Damn...you're still alive..." Natsu pouted.

"WHAT THE HELL?" Gray yelled at him. Natsu chuckled as Lucy was able to pull out the bone from his throat.

"Thank you..." He thanked her.

"No problem..." She replied. "What do we do now?" She asked Natsu and Gray.

"Let's go explore!" Natsu chuckled and jumped out of the rubble.

"Ah! Wait up!" Lucy called after him.

"Damn him...how could he have so much energy." Gray groaned. He then noticed that Natsu stopped. "What is it, Na-" He didn't finish as his eyes widened in horror. Lucy and Happy both had their jaws dropped to the ground in shock.

Natsu stared at the large monster inside the huge block of ice and clenched his fists. 'Deliora...' He glared at the monster and then turned his head slightly to take a glance at the horrified Gray.

"Why..." Gray made out. "WHY IS DELIORA HERE?"

**To Be Continued...**

* * *

><p><strong>Author <strong>**Notes:** Yo! How's everyone doing? Me...oh well...I am tired as fuck! College this week was such a pain in the ass! Midterms and essays and some other stuff that I don;t even know what to call it. This has been one hectic week. However, it is finally done and I'm sorry for updating this chapter later than usual. I've been studying my ass off, procrastinated a little, and been tired. Anyway, enough of my problems. I just want you all to know first hand that this chapter is not edited because I'm tired and I will edit it tomorrow. So, please excuse my horrible writing for at least one night or day whatever you want to call it.

Also...Modern Warfare 3 comes out Tuesday and well...I'll be playing it a lot. However, I will do my best to update my stories in the same pace as usual. So, until then, later!

P.S. I know I promised a drawing but for some reason my phone, which the photo is on wont let me send it to my email and i lost the usb cable that connects my phone to the computer...damn it! I tried scanning it onto my laptop but my printer is being stupid right now and wont connect...sigh I'll try to get it by the next chapter


	11. Natsu's Team VS Lyon's Team

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related which includes the characters of Fairy Tail.

**Rated M for future lemons! You have been warned!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 11: Natsu's Team VS Lyon's Team<strong>

"Why...?" Gray asked, his entire body shaking in fear as he looked up at the monster frozen in ice before him. "WHY IS DELIORA HERE?" He shouted at the top of his lungs. Natsu stared at Gray over his shoulder and frowned at his rival. Both Happy and Lucy cringed at his outburst. Both of them never heard Gray yell so loud before.

"G-Gray...? W-What's wrong?" Lucy asked. Gray gritted his teeth in anger. He glared at the monster with so much hate and anger that it almost felt like he was piercing a hole into the chest of the monster.

"I-Impossible! I-It can't be here!" He continued yelling, ignoring Lucy's question. He continued to shake in anger and fear. It just couldn't be possible. Why was Deliora here? He shouldn't be here. What the hell was going on?

"Gray...calm down..." Lucy tried to comfort him, but it wasn't working as he continued to shake. Lucy placed a hand on his shoulder and Gray started to settle down. He unclenched his fists slowly and took a deep breath. Once he was calm, he looked up at Deliora. "Gray...what is that thing anyway?"

"Deliora..." He told her with venom in his voice. "Devil of misfortune and disaster..."

"Devil of misfortune and disaster...?" Lucy tilted her head.

"It hasn't even changed one bit...what the hell is going...?" Gray muttered to himself. Lucy frowned at him and then heard voices behind her. She turned her head and saw shadows moving toward the large cave they were in.

"Someone's coming..." Lucy told the others. "We got to hide!" They all agreed and went into hiding as two people walked into the cave. One of the men looked like a tall lion and the other was shorter, man with very bushy eyebrows.

"Is it around here that you heard voices?" The man with bushy eyebrows asked and looked around to see if there was anyone in the cave.

"Ooooon." The other responded, looking around as well.

"Daytime...I'm sleepy..." The shorter man groaned.

"Oooon." The other responded again. The shorter man looked at him.

"Hey...did you get any Moon drip on you? You have ears and stuff." He asked.

"I DIDN'T! IT'S JUST DECORATIVE! YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT!" He shouted at him getting offended.

"I'm just teasing you idiot." He told him as the two walked around the cave again.

"Ooooon." The lion man responded.

"Moon drip? Did he mean the curse?" Lucy whispered after over hearing their conversation.

"Yuuka-san, Toby-san, I have some sad news." A third voice spoke as a female this time entered the cave.

"Sherry." The shorter man named Yuuka said.

"Ooooon." Toby responded to her arrival.

"Angelica was harassed by someone..." Sherry told them as she clasped her hands together in front of her chest.

"IT'S JUST A MOUSE!" Toby yelled at her.

"She's not just a mouse..." Sherry responded, lowering her hands to her stomach. "Angelica is a hunter that gallops the darkness...and love."

"Something is severely wrong about her." Lucy muttered, looking at Sherry like she was some kind of weirdo.

"They're not from this island...they're smell is different." Natsu told them as he laid his back against the rock he hid behind and placed his hands behind his head in a relaxed position.

"Yeah...and they don't seem to be cursed..." Happy added. "Although...I don't know about that ear guy though..."

"Intruders, eh?" Yuuka said and the others felt their hears skip a beat, except for Natsu, who looked like he didn't have a care in the world.

"Moonlight will gather soon...but how sad this is..." Sherry frowned and looked up to the ceiling of the cave. "We better hurry and get rid of them before Reitei-sama hears about this. Yes...before the moon shows herself..." She looked over to the two as they nodded.

"Agreed."

"Oooon."

"Since they have seen Deliora, we can't let them get back alive." Yuuka told his comrades.

"Eternal sleep to the intruders...in other words, 'Love'." Sherry responded in agreement in her own way.

"'DEATH!'" Toby yelled at them. "WE'LL KILL THEM!"

Team Natsu waited until they disappeared before coming out of their hiding spot. "Now what?" Happy asked the group.

"We wait." Natsu answered him and plopped down to the ground.

"Shit! Why the hell did they bring Deliora here?" Gray cursed under his breath. "I mean, how did they find where Deliora was sealed?"

"Sealed?" Lucy asked.

"It was in an iceberg on the northern continent." Gray told them. "It's an immortal demon that devastated the Isbin Area 10 years ago..." He then looked up at Deliora. "It's a demon that my magic teacher, Ur, sealed at the risk of her life." Lucy gasped and her eyes widened in shock. Happy did the same and Natsu simply stared at Gray. "I don't know how it's related to this island's curse...but this isn't something that should be here. Reitei...I don't know what you are doing, but I won't let you disgrace Ur's name!"

"B-But...do you think this monster has something to do with this island's curse?" Lucy asked.

"Possibly...the devil's still alive anyway." Gray answered her.

"Hey...what if I told you, I could melt that ice?" Gray made a noise in surprise and turned around to look at Natsu. Even Happy and Lucy looked at him in shock. Gray then glared at his rival.

"It's impossible...but that doesn't mean I won't kick your ass if you do something stupid!" Gray told him and glared as hard as he could at Natsu. Natsu stared back at him, unfazed by his glare.

"Whatever..." Natsu replied to his threat. "Besides, I doubt ice like that can be easily melted."

"Yeah..." Gray calmed himself down. "My teacher cast a spell called 'Ice Shell' on Deliora. It's an unmeltable ice that not even a tremendous flame magic could melt it. If they knew they can't melt it then why did they bring it here?" Gray wondered.

"Maybe they didn't know. Maybe they're trying to melt it somehow." Lucy commented.

"For what?" Gray gave her a glare as she cringed at his angry glare.

"I...I don't know..." Lucy stuttered in fear.

"Tch! I can't be myself." Gray turned away to look at Deliora again. "If I only knew why they brought Deliora here..."

"Why don't we just chase after those three?" Happy asked.

"Yeah." Lucy agreed.

"No. We wait." Gray told them. "We wait until the moon's up."

"What do you mean, Gray?" Lucy asked.

"I can't help thinking that everything, this island's curse, Deliora, is somehow connected to the 'moon'." Gray answered. "They said, 'The moonlight will gather soon'."

"I see...I guess all we can do is wait..." Lucy said and then looked over at Natsu. "What abo-" She stopped when she saw Natsu in the same meditating pose he was in back when Erza returned to the guild. She opened her mouth to call his name, but remembered that when he was like this, he won't answer to anyone. She sighed and then sat down on a flat rock. Gray did the same, but sat closer to Deliora.

'Ur...' He thought as he remembered his teacher.

_Gray...can you handle it? My training is hard._

_Yup! I can do anything!_

"Ahhh! Even if we did agree to wait, it's still so boring." Lucy moaned in boredom.

"Aye!" Happy agreed, sitting down on the same rock Lucy was sitting on.

Lucy then had an idea. She reached down to her key ring and grabbed a silver key. She then pointed it forward. "Open! A door to the Lyre. Lyra!" A poof later, a stellar spirit, with a harp on her back, appeared and as soon as her eyes met Lucy's, she squealed.

"Kyaaah! I haven't seen you in ages, Lucy!" Lucy smiled at her stellar spirit.

"Hey." She greeted Lyra.

"Awww! You only summon me once in a while!" She squealed again.

"But I can only summon you like three times a month." Lucy sweat dropped at her excitement.

"Another weirdo." Happy commented in a low voice.

"Eeeehh? Is that so?" Lyra said and then sat down next to Lucy, reaching behind her for her harp and laid it on her lap. "So, what song would you want me to sing today?"

"Anything is fine." Lucy simply told her and as soon as Happy heard that this spirit could play songs, he jumped at the chance for her to play a song he liked.

"A fish song!" Happy cheerfully exclaimed.

"Yaay! Then I'll just sing something!" Lyra exclaimed in excitement.

"Lyra is really good at singing." Lucy told Happy. He looked at her with a disappointed look.

"Mira's good too. She sings fish songs for me." Lucy chuckled and sweat dropped at his disappointment. Lyra played her harp and then started singing. Lucy closed her eyes and let her stellar spirits beautiful voice take her in to a nice trance that made her body feel warm inside. Happy couldn't help but close his eyes as well. He didn't like the fact that the sing wasn't about fish, but it was fine. Gray looked down to the ground and rested his forehead on his connected hands. He listened to the song differently than the others and memories of the time he spent with his teacher resurfaced. Lucy opened her eyes and looked at Gray in time to see a tear escape his eyes as he shook.

"G-Gray?" Lucy's eyes widened at the tear.

"H-Huh?" Gray said turning his head to hide his face, but enough to be able to see Lucy. "What's up?" He asked like nothing was wrong.

"He cried..." Happy commented sadly.

"I'm sorry..." Lucy apologized. "I knew Lyra is good at singing about people's feelings..."

"Gray cried." Happy repeated.

"Urusai! I didn't!" He yelled at them and turned back around.

"Wah! Lyra, can you sing something more cheerful?" Lucy asked of her spirit.

"Eeeh? You should have told me so!" Lyra exclaimed.

"Wait! What would you do if someone comes? Just keep quiet." Lucy told her spirit.

* * *

><p>As time went by, Lucy, Happy, Lyra and Gray fell asleep. Gray falling asleep sitting up. Natsu opened his eyes and saw everyone sleeping.<p>

'Yosh...' He stood up and then looked over at Deliora. He stared at the monster before turning toward the pathway that the three weirdos went to. He quietly left the cave. When he reached the top, he looked around to see if the coast was clear. It wasn't. He stared at the person who was standing in front of the hole that the moonlight was going to go through. He wondered why there weren't any of those weird spell caster people around, but he assumed it was this person's responsibility. He then walked toward the person.

The person sensed Natsu's presence and turned around. "Oh? Who are you?" The person said, smirking at Natsu. Natsu glared at him. "Are you one of Reitei's men? I don't remember ever seeing you before."

"Cut the crap!" Natsu yelled. The person made a noise in surprise at his outburst. "I know who you really are. You're that women who asked about that guy...what was his name again..."

"Huh? I have no idea what you're talking about? As you can see, I'm a man."

"Oh? Then how about I beat you to a pulp...maybe then you will turn back." He told the person and punched his fist into his open hand.

"No need for violence..." The person chuckled. He chanted a spell and a blue circle appeared above him. The circle started descending down. Once the circle reached the ground, the person turned into a woman. "I'm impressed that you knew who I was." Ultear smirked at Natsu. "Although...I do wonder how you knew it was me."

"Your smell." Natsu answered. "The scent of your disguise and yourself was the same."

"Oh my...you're making me blush." Ultear giggled.

"What are you doing here?" Natsu asked.

"That is my business and my business only." She replied. "However, I would tell you if you tell me more about Zeref."

"I told you before...I don't know who this Zeref person is..." Natsu replied.

Ultear giggled. "I see...then why is it that I don't believe you." Natsu kept his poker face on. He couldn't make any type of movement that would signal her that he knew about Zeref.

"Don't know...but I really don't know this Zeref person. Is he like some old boyfriend of yours?" Ultear couldn't help but laugh. That surprised Natsu.

"My...that was a good joke, but no." Ultear giggled. She then suddenly appeared in front of Natsu. She leaned toward him and whispered something to his ear. "Don't interfere, Natsu-kun. You wouldn't like it when I'm angry." She giggled at the end and moved away from him. Natsu stared at her.

'What is with this woman...?' He wondered. "Sorry, but if anyone hurts my friends, I won't hesitate to beat them up." He glared at her.

"I see..." She closed her eyes and hid a smirk behind her sleeve. "Well then good luck, Natsu-kun." She said before she walked away. Natsu continued to glare at her until she was gone. He then sighed. He turned his head toward the hole and walked toward it. He leaned forward and looked down. He barely was able to see the ice that Deliora was frozen in.

"Who are you?" Natsu's eyes widened and he quickly turned around. His eyes met the man who he knew to be Gray's friend/fellow student, Lyon, although he was in disguise. Natsu cursed. He wasn't supposed to meet him until tonight, but he hung around too long.

"He must be one of those intruders." Yuuka said as he walked from behind Leon to his right.

"Intruders?" Lyon asked.

"Oooon." Toby answered yes in his own way, walking to Lyon's left.

"Could he also be the one who hurt Angelica?" Sherry clasped her hands together and frowned.

"IT'S A MOUSE!" Toby shouted at her.

"Enough!" Lyon yelled at the three as they stopped. "Who are you?" He asked Natsu again.

"I don't need to tell you." Natsu answered. Natsu made a mental note to kick himself for doing something stupid like this. He didn't plan on confronting them this early, but he didn't know when they were going to return and he should have thought of that before wandering off.

"How dare you talk like that to the Reitei-sama!" Sherry yelled at him.

"Enough, Sherry." Lyon told her. She looked at him with a frown before nodding her head.

"Sorry, Reitei-sama." Lyon stared at Natsu.

"I don't know what you are after, but I assume you are from a guild that those villagers contacted." Leon said.

"Maybe...maybe not..." Natsu replied.

"Your irritating." Lyon said annoyed. "Yuuka, Toby...deal with him." He ordered them.

"Hai, Reitei-sama." Yuuka said.

"Oooon!" Toby roared and charged first at Natsu. Natsu watched him and waited for the right moment. When it came, he stepped to the side and Toby ran past him and was now hovering over the hole. "Huh?" Toby blinked and then looked down. He started to sweat. "OOOOONNNNNN!" He yelled as he fell down the hole.

'What an idiot...' Natsu sweat dropped at his stupidity.

"That idiot..." Yuuka growled in frustration.

"So...you're next, right?" Natsu smirked, motioning Yuuka to come at him.

"How dare you underestimate me..." Yuuka glared at him. He raised his hands and created two orbs on them. "Wave Bullets!" He shouted and shot out several wave bullets at high speed at Natsu. Natsu didn't move and simply slapped all of his bullets away like they were pesky flies. Yuuka eye's widened at this and gritted his teeth in anger.

"He's strong..." Lyon commented. Sherry frowned and held her hands closer to her chest.

"Damn you..." Yuuka growled at him, but remained his composure. He shot more wave bullets at Natsu and this time, the pink haired dragon slayer dodged his bullets while quickly running toward Yuuka. When Yuuka saw what he was doing, he continued shooting his bullets at Natsu, tempting him to continue getting closer to him. He smirked as he thought Natsu brought the bait and raised his hand. "Wave Shield!" A magical shield appeared in front of Yuuka. Natsu didn't care about the shield and threw a fist at it. 'Fool...'

'Like I'm going to fall for that...' Natsu smirked, igniting his elbow to give his punch more pop. Yuuka's eyes widened as Natsu's fist went through his shield and then connected with his cheek with so much force that it sent Yuuka flying past Lyon and Sherry and into a rock behind them.

"Looks like I have to do this myself..." Lyon said.

"Wait, Reitei-sama..." Sherry stopped him. "You don't have to get your hands dirty on someone like him. Let me do it, in the name of 'love'."

"No...he's too strong for you..." Lyon told her and she blushed.

'Reitei-sama...you care...' She put her hands on her cheeks to feel how warm they were. She misunderstood the meaning behind his words.

"I don't know who you are, but from the mark on your shoulder, it seems your a mage of Fairy Tail, correct?" Lyon asked.

"Yeah..." Natsu nodded his head. "But that also means that you're an enemy of Fairy Tail now and that is the biggest mistake you ever made!" He glared at Lyon, who cringed slightly, but did his best to stay calm and collective.

"Fine then...prepare yourself..." Lyon told him.

* * *

><p>"OOOOOOONNNNNNNN!" Toby screamed as he fell down the hole. He then hit his head right on top ice that froze Deliora, sending a large shiver run down his spine. Normally, he would be dead, but since this is an anime, he tipped over and fell to the ground in front of Deliora. His loud voice, plus the loud sound that was made with his head hitting against the ice and finally the thud that came after, woke the rest of Team Natsu up.<p>

"W-Wha...what was that sound?" Lucy asked getting up and rubbing her eyes awake.

Gray stood up and looked around the cave before he spotted an unconscious Toby in front of Deliora. "W-Wha...?" He asked confused.

"Huh? W-Where's Natsu?" Happy asked, looking around for his friend. Lucy and Gray all looked at the spot they last saw Natsu and saw that he was indeed gone. Then, the sound of a large explosion was heard above them as the cave shook from it's impact.

"What was that?" Lucy wondered, looking up.

"I don't know, but let's go!" Gray responded and rushed toward the pathway Natsu used.

"Ah! Wait for us!" Lucy called after him and both she and Happy followed Gray.

* * *

><p>"Ugh..." Lyon groaned as Natsu's fist broke the ice shield he made to defend himself with. 'Damn this bastard...' He cursed mentally and started panting.<p>

"Reitei-sama..." Sherry watched in worry that the person she was in love with have difficult time with Natsu.

"Come on...is that all you got..." Natsu snickered. He knew that he wasn't the person to defeat Lyon. It was Gray and it will be Gray. Why not have some fun for a while? No harm in that right?

"You bastard..." Lyon growled and clenched his fist tightly. "Ice Make: Wolf!" He shouted and a ice made wolf shot out from his fist toward Natsu. Natsu smirked and ignited his fist.

'Let's see if I can melt his ice after what happened last time...' Natsu punched the ice wolf in the face and within seconds, the ice started to melt. Lyon's eyes widened in shock as the ice that traveled from his fist melted into water, leaving behind a long line of water on the ground. 'Yosh! It was a success!' Natsu grinned.

"Natsu!" Natsu turned his head to see his three comrades running toward him.

"Yo! What's up?" He grinned at them and raised a hand to greet them.

"You idiot!" Lucy yelled at him and smacked him over the head.

"Ow!" He put his hands on the spot where she hit him. "What did you do that for?"

"Weren't you the one who told us that we should wait?" Lucy pointed a finger at him.

"Huh? I thought Gray said that?" He replied, crossing his arms and tilted his head to the side.

"Natsu...who's that?" Happy asked, pointing his paw at Lyon.

"He's the one who's trying to revive Deliora." Natsu answered and just as he expected, Gray clenched his fists tightly and glared at him furiously.

"So...it's you..." Gray growled.

"It's been a while...Gray." Lyon responded. Gray's eyes widened at the familiar voice.

"You...is it really you...Lyon?" Lyon chuckled and removed his helmet. Gray's eyes widened even further.

"L-Lyon...why are you...?" Gray shook in disbelief.

"How long has it been...Gray?" Lyon spoke, smirking at Gray.

"Lyon!" Gray suddenly shouted. "Why are you trying to revive Deliora?" Lucy cringed at the volume of his voice.

"I never expected the townspeople to call the very same guild that you are affiliated with...do you know about this or is it a coincidence? Oh well...not like it matters..." Lyon ignored Gray's question. He then turned to Sherry. "Sherry...I want you to go obliterate the town." This earned sounds of surprise from Team Natsu, except for Natsu.

"Anything for you, Reitei-sama..." Sherry smiled at him. With that, she started heading sown the path to the village.

"W-Wait! Why are you going after the village?" Lucy shouted. "They have nothing to do with this!"

"On the contrary...anyone who is a threat to my plans should be obliterated and that's that." Lyon told her.

"So cruel..." Lucy muttered, feeling angry.

"Happy..." Happy turned to Natsu. "Take Lucy and go after her." Lucy made a sound in surprise. Happy didn't question him.

"Aye!" he saluted and then grabbed Lucy by her shirt and started flying off, after Sherry.

"Ah! Wait a minute! Why am I...?" Natsu grinned at her and waved his hand.

"Good luck in your fight!" He shouted.

"Huh? F-Fight? W-Wait a minute!" Lucy shouted and then she and Happy were gone, leaving only Gray and Natsu with Lyon.

"So...it's going to be a two on one fight..." Lyon muttered his observation.

"Nah...just you and Gray..." Natsu replied, taking a seat on the ground. Both Lyon and Gray looked at Natsu in surprise.

"Natsu..." Gray muttered his name.

"What? Don't you have some beef against this guy? Get on with it." Natsu told him. "I enjoy watching a good fight. Besides...if it gets boring I could always look at the sunset."

Gray wasn't sure if he should thank him or hit the crap out of him. Either way, he was grateful that Natsu was going to let him handle his own business with Lyon. He smirked and then glared at Lyon. "I won't let you do this...Lyon!"

"Hmph...your friend is making a big mistake...Gray..." Gray cocked an eyebrow at his words. It was then he remembered that Lyon's ice magic can freeze anyone in it's range. Gray could feel the cold magic around him. He panicked and turned to Natsu to warn him.

"Natsu...what...huh?" Gray blinked in surprise. Lyon's eyes widened in shock.

"What?" Natsu tilted his head to the side.

"Y-You're n-not frozen..." Gray muttered.

"No...why? Should I be?" He tilted his head to the side.

"Impossible..." Lyon muttered under his breath. "No flame can unfreeze my ice magic..."

Gray started walking toward Natsu. As he got closer, he felt the temperature get warmer. Gray realized that he was heating himself up with his magic to keep himself from freezing, but there was no way his flame magic could easily melt Lyon's. When he got really close, he couldn't believe how hot it was. He could literally feel his own skin melting. He quickly jumped away from Natsu. 'Damn...how much heat is he emitting from his body...no wonder Lyon's ice magic didn't freeze him.'

"I don't know what is going on...but I can't let you interfere with my plans!" He yelled and clenched his fist tightly. He slammed his hand down on the ground as shards of ice popped out of the ground. The ice headed toward Gray and he retaliated with the same attack. It wasn't as big or strong as Lyon's, but it did stop his attack. Both of them continued to apply more of their magic into the attack until the pressure was too much and the ice broke into many pieces.

"Lyon!" Gray yelled as soon as he was able to see Lyon. "Your not Ur's student anymore!"

Lyon chuckled in amusement. "Same goes for you...Gray."

"Ur isn't alive anymore..." He shook in anger. "SHE LOST HER LIFE IN ORDER TO SEAL DELIORA! YOU'RE TRYING TO DESTROY WHAT UR LEFT US!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. Lyon wasn't fazed by his outburst.

"Don't fool your own memory...you killed Ur, Gray." Lyon corrected him and Gray shook violently at his words. "How could you live like that?" Natsu stared at Lyon. He didn't know exactly what happened with Gray and his teacher, but from what he understood from Lucy when she told him, Ur used some magic that turned her into the ice that Deliora was frozen in. He didn't quite get it, but he got gist of it. "It's presumptuous enough to even say your name." Before Gray could blink, Lyon shot out a large block of ice at Gray. The attack connected with Gray and sent him through a broken piece of stone.

Gray sat up and looked at Lyon in disbelief. "L-Lyon..."

"What's wrong? Do you feel guilty that you won't fight back? If that's the case, then I ask you not to get in my way. I'll revive Deliora." Lyon said. Gray glared at him.

"I won't let you!" He yelled back and stood up.

"That's the spirit! Now...let's have a match. It's been a while." Lyon smirked. "Ice Make: Eagle!" He pointed his hand at Gray and ice eagles flew toward Gray.

"Ice Make: Shield!" Gray created a shield to defend against the several ice eagles. However, the ice eagles changed direction and flew either above, to the sides or behind Gray and struck him. Gray covered himself with his arms to decrease the amount of damage dealt to him and then ran away to avoid any more damage. He rolled on the ground and then placed his hand on the palm of his free hand. "Ice Make: Hammer!"

Lyon looked up and saw a hammer made out of ice appear above him. The hammer descending down to him and Lyon raised his hand above him. "Ice Make: Ape!" A large ice ape was formed behind him and blocked the hammer. The hammer broke into pieces. "You're still using two hand to form your magic...you're pathetic."

"It's Ur's teaching." Gray responded as he stood up. "One-handed molding is incomplete and not balanced."

"I'm special." Lyon told him. "I've surpassed Ur's power long ago."

"Don't think to highly of yourself..."

"I should return those words to you...were you even able to hit me once?" Lyon asked as Gray gritted his teeth in anger.

"I'm not the same as I used to be!" Gray informed him and slammed his fist into his other hand. "Ice Make: Geyser!" Gray slammed both his hands down to the ground. Out from the ground, several shards of ice popped out and attacked Lyon.

"Same old, same old." Gray's eyes widened in shock as his attack broke into pieces and Lyon came out from the attack unharmed. "I was the senior pupil, and I was stronger than you. I could mold one-handed, but you couldn't. Nothing has changed. Even our paths differ, time has been frozen since then." He raised his arm and pointed it at Gray. "Ice Make: Dragon!" Gray's eye's widened as the ground erupted in a small geyser of ice and then a dragon made of ice appeared blowing Gray away.

"Gah!" Gray screamed in pain. He fell to the ground with a thud and then sat up to stare at Lyon.

"That is why I'm melting the ice; in order to start walking on the path that was blocked." Lyon continued.

"Don't be stupid! There is now way to melt that ice!" Gray yelled at him.

"Moon drip." Lyon responded. Gray blinked at him in confusion. "That is what I'm using. It's the only thing that can be used to melt that ice. I have been waiting for this day a long time...Gray. Ur was always my goal. It was my dream to surpass her. However, you ruined my dream. I thought it'd be impossible to surpass Ur now. But I realized that there is another way. By defeating Deliora, the monster that even she couldn't beat...then I can surpass her. I can continue dreaming."

"You're insane! You should know yourself how deadly and powerful Deliora is! It's impossible!" Gray yelled at him.

Lyon's eyes widened in surprise at his words. Soon, anger enveloped him and he summoned a large wave of ice that shredded the clothes off of Gray and delivered several cuts on his chest. Natsu's eyes widened. Soon, the nightmare from last night resurfaced. Gray's body laying there, covered in blood. The mental image itself was enough to make Natsu so angry that he wanted to rip apart Lyon. However, he restrained himself. He couldn't do that. This was Gray's fight and he had no right to interfere. Then again...he didn't care about that the last time...so why didn't he do so now?

"Don't 'impossible' me..." Lyon growled in anger. "Back then...we told you the exact same words..." He continued despite Gray's cries of pain. "Don't tell me you forgot." He yelled and pointed his hand at him again. Suddenly, a large burst of magic erupted around Gray, dealing more damage to his body. "You have no right to mention Ur's name! Vanish!" Gray groaned as he bled from the cuts he received from Lyon's attacks and then collapsed to the ground. "Die!" Lyon finished as he stared down at Gray's unconscious form. He then turned to Natsu. He flinched slightly at the cold, hard glare he was giving him. "W-What's with that glare? You should have helped him."

"This is a fight between you two...I have no right to intervene..." Natsu told him. "Then again...you hurt one of my nakama...you hurt a nakama from the guild I love...even though it's Gray...I can't forgive you..." Natsu growled, doing his very best not to jump at him and tear him apart.

Lyon didn't know how to respond to that. He looked up and saw that the fight took longer than he expected and it was already dark out. He then turned back to Natsu. He was about to tell him to move, but thought better not to anger him anymore than he already is. He cursed under his breath. He wanted to continue using moon drip, but he saw that Natsu wasn't going to move from his spot. He could have attacked him...but something was pulling him back in his decision. "I don't know who you are, but don't interfere...or otherwise...I'll do the same to you that I did to Gray..." With that said, he left.

Natsu watched as Lyon walked away until he didn't see him anymore. Natsu sighed and stood up up. He walked over to Gray and looked down at him. "Damn...you suck..." He chuckled at his taunt. He then picked Gray up, carried him over his shoulder and headed down the mountain toward the village.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, on the ocean outside of Garuna Island...<p>

"W-Why are you going to that island for?" A pirate with a pig nose asked the red haired woman behind him.

"Just navigate." She told him with a stern voice that made him cry in fear.

"Pardon me..." He stuttered. "Garuna Island is the cursed island...I heard humans turn into devils there..."

"I'm not interested..." She replied, unfazed by his words that would make others turn tail and run. "I'm going to punish anyone who breaks the rules." Erza told him. "Simple as that." The pirate gulped and turned back around to steer the ship. Erza stared at the ocean in front of her, hoping she could get to the island as soon as possible. 'Natsu...please don't use that...you promised me...so please don't...'

* * *

><p>"Get back here!" Lucy and Happy both shouted as Sherry ran from them.<p>

"I won't stop...in the power of 'love'." Sherry told them.

"Stop saying that!" Lucy yelled at her. She then looked up at Happy. "Happy can you get in front of her."

"Aye!" Happy nodded and increased his speed. He managed to get in front of Sherry and then descend downward to stop her in her tracks.

"Hold it right there!" Lucy told her, pointing a finger at her.

"You fell into Angelica's trap."

"Huh?" Lucy blinked at her in confusion. Suddenly, the giant mouse that Natsu knocked out appeared behind her. Lucy's body shook in fear and turned her head around to stare wide eyed at the mouse. The mouse growled at her and without a moment's hesitation Lucy and Happy ran. "Kyaaahhh!" Lucy screamed as the mouse stormed through the jungle, taking down trees and plants alike that were in Angelica's path.

Sherry, who was riding on Angelica's shoulder, watched in amusement. "This is wonderful, Angelica. Squash them so that Reitei-sama would be pleased with my work." Lucy had to think of something. She knew she couldn't run forever. She jumped over a large root that went from one tree to the other and when Angelica tried to run through it, she wasn't able to break it and tripped. "Kyaah!" Lucy continued to run until she heard the scream and thud and then stopped. She turned around and saw Angelica on the ground face first. This was her chance.

"Open! A door to the Bull! Tauros!" She took Tauros' key and summoned him.

"Mooooo!" Tauros cried his battle cry and raised his axe in the air.

"Tauros! Quick! Attack that giant mouse so that it doesn't get back up!" Lucy ordered her stellar spirit. Tauros roared and did as he was told. He jumped in the air and then slammed his hooves down on Angelica's stomach. Angelica spat out saliva before falling into unconsciousness. Sherry watched Lucy's stellar spirit take out her beloved Angelica and felt anger build inside her. "Way to go, Tauros!" Tauros turned his head to look at Lucy and his eyes turned into hearts.

"Anything for your breast...Lucy-san!"

"Would you stop that?" Lucy yelled at him for the perverted comment.

"Pervert." Happy added, deciding not to congratulate him after hearing what he said.

"You..." The three of them turned their heads to Sherry angrily glaring them. Tears fell from her eyes. "Thank you for all you have done...girlie. Now...Reitei-sama's confidence in me has dropped. I WON'T BE LOVED ANYMORE!"

"Again with the love thing..." Lucy sweat dropped.

"On top of that...you did this to Angelica...I WON'T FORGIVE YOU!" Sherry yelled at Lucy.

"Bring it on!" Lucy told her, standing her ground. "Tauros! Go!" Lucy told her spirit and he roared. He took a few steps before turning around to look at Lucy. "W-What?" Lucy asked and then her eyes widened when Taurus swung his axe at her. She quickly dodged her spirit's axe. "Kyaaah!"

"Stellar Spirits are unfortunate to meet me..." Sherry told her.

"W-What? Tauros! What are you doing?" Lucy asked as he swung his axe at her again. She dodged again and Happy flew to the air to avoid getting hit.

"Moooo!" Tauros roared again. He then grabbed Lucy around her neck and slammed her to the ground. Lucy groaned in pain as her back hit the ground. She opened one of her eyes to look at Tauros. "W-W-What are you doing...?"

"My magic, 'Doll Play Attack' is a magic that can control anything but humans. That applies to Stellar Spirits since they're not humans as well." Sherry explained as she motioned her hands like she was playing with a puppet.

"You..." Lucy muttered, trying to get Tauros' off of her.

"Now then...strip her clothes off." Sherry ordered Tauros.

"With pleasure!" He exclaimed in excitement.

"Are you really being controlled?" Lucy yelled at him, doing her best to prevent him from stripping her.

"Pervert." Happy commented as he watched from the sky above.

"Why don't you help me, you flying cat!" Lucy yelled at Happy.

"I'm moo-st sorry about this...Lucy-san...but I can't control my body..." Tauros told her. He continued to shred her clothes.

"Close! A door to the bull!" Lucy shouted hoping she could do a force closure, but it didn't work.

"Oh? Doesn't it require for both the mage and spirit to close the gates? You cannot close it one-sidedly." Sherry told her, but Lucy ignored her and continued yelling to close the door. No matter how much she tried she just couldn't do it. However, she didn't stop.

"Close the door, Tauros!" She yelled.

"So...I guess this is the level of a mage from Fairy Tail." Sherry mocked and it angered Lucy. She then yelled at the top of her lungs.

"CLOSE! A DOOR TO THE BULL!" To both Lucy's and Sherry's surprise, Tauros' disappeared. Lucy couldn't believe she did it. She raised her hands and looked at them. "I can't believe I did it. A forced gate closure. I actually managed to do it!"

"It can't be possible...I didn't know you could do something like that...I miscalculated..." Sherry said in disbelief. Lucy turned her hand around and stared at the mark of Fairy Tail. She then grinned.

"Yup! I'm a member of Fairy Tail too and I can feel myself getting stronger!" She took out her whip and stared at her opponent. She then reached for her key ring. "Let's see...I still have other spirits in my disposal..." Lucy then reached for a silver key. "Open! A door to the lesser dog! Plue!" With a poof, Plue appeared.

"Puuun!" Plue cried as his body shook as usual.

"That won't work!" Sherry smirked. "Doll Play Attack: Puppeter!" Plue was now in Sherry's control as he winded his arm and charged at Lucy. Sherry watched in disbelief as Plue only pounded his paw against her leg. Lucy smirked.

"You fell for it!" She told her opponent and attacked her with her whip. Sherry gritted her teeth and jumped back to avoid the whip and then canceled her control over Plue. Plue returned to normal, but Sherry already initiated her next attack. "Doll Play Attack: Rock Doll!" In an instant, the rocks around her began forming into a giant rock monster. Lucy's eyes widened in disbelief at the new problem she had to deal with. The rock monster attacked Lucy by slamming his fist down at her. Lucy ran again.

'What is this? Do I even have a stellar spirit that can take this thing on?' She wondered and because of that, she tripped and fell to the ground. She groaned in pain and then look forward to see the sea. The sea. 'Ah! I can use her!' Lucy thought of an idea and quickly stood up. The rock monster roared behind her and Lucy reached for a golden key this time.

"You have no where to run...girlie. Even if you do summon a spirit, I will only control it and use your own spirit against you." Sherry reminded her.

Lucy ignored her and then summoned her spirit. "Open! A door to the water bearer! Aquarius!" Aquarius appeared through her normal fashioned way.

"W-What? Aquarius! You have a spirit as strong as her!" Sherry yelled in shock.

"Tch." Aquarius rolled her eyes at Lucy.

"You've got a bad attitude as always! Can you just finish her off?" Lucy yelled at her spirit while pointing at Sherry and her rock monster.

"Ah! It's the mermaid..." Happy commented as he was now flying next to Aquarius. She looked over to him.

"It's a flying blue cat...tch..." Happy gawked at her. "You're annoying as always." She redirected it toward Lucy. "That's why you never can get a boyfriend."

"That's none of your business!" Lucy yelled back.

"Tch...I wonder if you'll ever summon me when you have a boyfriend..." Aquarius muttered. "What about that pink haired guy I hear you're always around with?" Lucy blushed.

"T-That's...-Natsu is...WOULD YOU JUST FINISH HER OFF?" She stuttered before yelling at her again.

"Doll Play Attack: Puppeteer!" Sherry used her powers to control Aquarius. Sherry then chuckled. "Hehe...now you can't use Aquarius anymore. Make her go home at once."

"Sorry, but...she's my trump card!" Lucy smirked.

"Then go away and scatter with that sea power! Aquarius! Attack her!" Sherry ordered her now controlled spirit.

"Huh?" Aquarius asked. "I WOULD DO THAT EVEN WITHOUT YOUR PERMISSION!" She roared and summoned her water to attack everyone.

"AAAHHHHH!" Sherry, Lucy and Happy all screamed as Aquarius' power started washing them away into a tidal wave.

"Tch! All of you are idiots..." Aquarius told them and then disappeared. Both Lucy and Sherry stood up after her attack and felt extremely dizzy. They started walking toward each other like two drunk girls as Happy laid on the sand, his eyes as two swirls going round and round.

"Aquarius...always does stuff like this...attacking both enemy and ally..." Lucy told Sherry.

"I-I was careless..." Sherry replied as the two tried their best to stay balanced, but they were still dizzy. "But see...she still couldn't defeat my rock doll..."

"So what? The doll can only move when it is manipulated by someone...so if I keep you dizzy and staggered like this...there is no problem..." Lucy replied, chuckling a bit at the end. The two of them then started slapping each other while still being dizzy. "This is a Fairy Tail mage..."

"I can't believe I settled you with a tie..." Sherry replied.

"A tie? No way! This is my win!" Lucy countered.

"What are you talking about? You're staggering too!" Sherry told her.

"Then how about..." Lucy closed her eyes to get her head steady. "...this!" She then clothesline Sherry.

"N-No...I can't lose..." Sherry groaned as the rock monster began crumbling. "Even if the candle of my life will be blown out...my love for Reitei-sama won't change..."

"You won't die! You're exaggerating!" Lucy told her, looking at Sherry with one eye.

"Angelica...avenge me..." Sherry said her final words before she fell to the ground unconscious.

"Chuuu!" Lucy's eyes widened in shock as she turned her head around to see the giant rat jumping out of the jungle.

"Eh? N-No way..." Lucy dropped to her knees and couldn't move her legs to get out of the way. Lucy looked up and her eyes widened in horror. Lucy closed her eyes and covered her body with her arms to protect herself. Only one name entered her mind at this moment. 'Natsu!'

"You damn mouse!" Lucy's eyes widened as she looked up just in time to see Natsu hit Angelica away from Lucy.

"Natsu!" Lucy couldn't help but shout in joy the name of her savior. However, it didn't last long before she noticed that Natsu swung Gray's motionless body at Angelica like a staff. Her eyes widened in complete shock. Angelica crashed into the jungle so hard that she fell into unconsciousness again instantly. Gray crashed onto the sand on his back and let out a groan of pain at being used like a weapon.

"What the hell did you do that for, you asshole!" Gray shouted at Natsu before coughing up blood and then losing the ability to argue any longer with the pink haired dragon slayer.

"What? That was the only way for me to save Lucy." Natsu told him.

"Thank you...Natsu..." The dragon slayer looked at her and grinned.

"No problem!" Lucy blushed and he helped her up.

"Where's Happy?" Natsu asked, looking around for his feline friend.

"Ah! Oh no! I forgot about Happy!" They both looked around for the blue cat. When they found him, his eyes were still swirling around.

"What happened to him?" Natsu asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Hehe...I'm sure it was nothing..." Lucy giggled nervously, knowing it was her fault Happy was like this. She then turned her head to Gray. "Is Gray okay?"

"Yeah...he'll be fine...we should head back to the village though..." Natsu told her and then picked up Happy. He handed Lucy Happy and then walked over to Gray. He picked him up over his shoulder and turned back to Lucy. "Let's go!" Lucy nodded her head and they headed back to the village.

* * *

><p>"Why didn't you finish that brat named Gray...Reitei-sama?" The small man who was really Ultear asked Lyon.<p>

"No particular reason..." He answered looking up at Deliora. "You should know that I don't prefer blood."

The man chuckled and turned around. "Even so...you didn't hesitate to order your comrades to kill the villagers. I guess you still have a soft spot for your fellow student."

"Nonsense!" Lyon said loudly as the man walked toward Lyon and stood next to him. "I've beaten him so badly; he wouldn't dare oppose me...but if he thinks about trying to stop me again...I won't hesitate to kill him."

"Oh? Really?" The small masked man chuckled.

* * *

><p>"Looks like we're here." Natsu told Lucy as she nodded her head in agreement. "Oi! Open up!" Natsu shouted to the guards.<p>

"Ah! It's you guys! Why didn't you tell us that you had another member of your guild coming?" One of the guards told them. Natsu smirked knowing who it was, while Lucy raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Huh? But we didn't know..." Lucy muttered as the gate began opening. As soon as the village came into view, Lucy's eyes widened at the woman standing. The red haired woman didn't look very happy.

"E-E-Erza..." Lucy stuttered her name as Erza glared at the group.

"You...idiots!" She yelled at them. Lucy shook in fear. She did not want to feel the wrath of the strongest woman in Fairy Tail. Natsu only grinned stupidly.

"Yo! How's it hanging...Erza?"

**To Be Continued...**

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes:<strong> Before any of you say anything...I know that this chapter is mostly canon to the manga. Well, I'm sorry but there really wasn't much to put into this chapter except some of my changes. However, the next chapter won't be like that I promise you. Also, I'm sorry for not updating as usual but I'll be honest and say that MW3 consumed me...yeah I know...it's a bit sad...yeah. I know I said I was going to show you guys the photo I drew, but my phone is...I don't know...I guess you can say is malfunctioning for some reason when I want to send photos. Until next chapter!


	12. Natsu and Zeref Round Two

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related which includes the characters of Fairy Tail.

**Rated M for future lemons! You have been warned!**

**Has been Edited! Thanks **I.-.-.I Kuroyagi I.-.-.I**!  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 12: Natsu And Zeref Round Two<strong>

"But Erza...something is really happening to this island! We can't just leave without helping these people!" Lucy argued against the strongest woman in Fairy Tail.

"I don't care." Erza stated steadily; standing her ground and never backing down, no matter how much pleading Lucy did.

"Erza..." She muttered and frowned. She then looked over at Natsu and saw him staring out the window. "Aren't you going to say something Natsu?"

"Hm?" Natsu turned his head around. "Not really. I'm not going anywhere though." He told them, making the scarlet-haired knight glared at him.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Natsu...but you're leaving with us." Erza reminded him.

"Nah! Don't feel like it." Her eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

"That wasn't a suggestion." She told him.

"I'm still not leaving." He replied, standing his own ground.

Erza was getting annoyed. "Natsu...I'm sorry, but...you guys broke the rules and you have to pay the consequences."

"Eeeh? But I thought I was qualified to be an S-Class Mage so there shouldn't be any problem, right?" Natsu countered.

"But you declined!" She raised her voice. "If you accepted that promotion then this would be a different story! As of now, you aren't an S-Class Mage so I have no choice to bring you back!" The boy stared at her.

"No!" Erza gritted her teeth in anger.

"Fine then...you leave me no choice...I guess I'll have to bring you back by force..." Erza stood up and prepared herself to fight Natsu.

"Oi...wait a minute...why are you guys fighting about this...?" Lucy asked trying to calm the two of them down.

"Hey Erza...let me ask you something...do you want me to go back to Fairy Tail because this is an S-Class job or because you're afraid of me using 'that'...?" The knight made a noise of surprise at his question. She opened her mouth to answer him, but what could she say? Was she really doing this because this is just an S-Class job? Natsu was stronger. He beat her, proving that he was stronger than her. Yet, why did she keep telling herself that she is doing this because this was a difficult job. That wasn't why she was doing it and she knew it. After what Happy told her, she didn't want to believe it. When she confronted Natsu about it, she knew it was true. She really was doing this so that she could prevent him from using the Dragon Metamorphosis again, thus shortening his life span even more.

"I...I..." She wanted to say something, but she couldn't find the right words to let out. Lucy turned her head from Erza to Natsu, wondering what they were talking about. The tension in the room changed so drastically that she felt like she was barging into a conversation in which she had no right to be a part of. It didn't feel good to her.

"Erza...I know you're worried...but don't be...I won't use it unless I have no choice..." He smiled at her. "So...don't worry about me..." He walked out of the small hut where Gray and Happy were resting in. Lucy watched him as he left before looking back at Erza, whom was looking down to the floor with narrowed eyes and a frown.

'Natsu...I want to...but...I can't...' Erza thought.

"Erza..." Erza looked up at Lucy, snapping her thoughts away when the blonde called her name.

"W-What is it?" She asked, stuttering a bit.

Lucy knew what she wanted to ask her, but something was preventing her from saying it. She wanted to know what the two of them were talking about, but she felt like she was going to trespass over a line that she was afraid of going over. So, instead, she asked Erza a different question, hoping it would make the weird atmosphere go away. "Are we still going back to the guild?"

The orderly knight lowered her eyes and thought about the question; honestly, she didn't want to continue this job. However, knowing Natsu, he wasn't going to head back so easily. She sighed. "No, we'll see this job till the end." Lucy felt relieved that she was offering to help out on this job. "However, when we get back you will have to get punished." The blonde squealed in fear. Erza turned her head to Gray and Happy.

"What happened to those two?" She asked Lucy.

"Happy was...umm...well...he's fine...Gray though..." Lucy frowned. "...he was beaten by one of the enemies who are trying to revive this monster called Deliora..." At that instant, the ice mage opened his eyes and sat up, feeling immense pain all over his body, making him cringe. He looked down to see his torso wrapped in bandages. "Gray!" Said guy turned his head from his body to Lucy.

"Lucy..." He muttered and then turned his head to see someone else in the hut. "ERZA!" He jumped in surprise, his motions triggering more pain throughout his body that he didn't feel, he was too shock at seeing Erza to even notice it. "W-What are you doing here?"

"Nice to see you back up...Gray." Erza told him. "I came here to bring you guys back to the guild, but I decided to stay and complete this job while I'm at it." She explained to him before glaring at Gray. "However, you will be punished when we get back." The poor guy shivered in fear and gulped.

"B-But w-why? The old man told me to go with Natsu, Lucy and Happy on this job to make sure they get back safely." Gray told her.

"Huh? Master asked that of you?" Gray nodded. "Hmm? Then why did Mira make it sound like you guys did this to rebel against the Master?" Both Gray and Lucy sweat dropped.

'W-What did Mira-chan actually tell her?' They both wondered. Gray then snapped from his thoughts when he remembered what Lyon was trying to do.

"Erza! We have to do something! If we don't stop them, they'll release a monster that would be impossible to stop!" He yelled.

"Gray! Calm down." Erza told him. "First, I want you to explain everything to me. Who is this Deliora monster?" Gray felt himself calming down at the command, staring down at the floor as he started his explanation.

"Deliora... that monster..."

* * *

><p>"You are the only one left?" Lyon said as he looked down at Toby, who had a bandage on his head. "How scandalous."<p>

"Ooon!" Toby replied.

"I guess I underestimated Fairy Tail. They're pretty good." Lyon commented. 'Especially that one guy...'

"Oooon."

"Deliora's revival could become more difficult now."

"You're here again, Zarti?" Zarti, the man who was actually Ultear in disguise, chuckled.

"Of course." Zarti told him. "Tonight...the moon's power will be maximized and Deliora will be revived. However, if anyone interrupts the Moon Drip ritual...then Deliora will stay in that ice forever."

"This is nonsense...I should've taken care of them myself." Lyon muttered.

"Ooon...I'm sorry..." Toby apologized.

"Your opponents have increased in number...granted it's only one person, but she is the Titania." Zarti told him.

"I see...as usual you're fast on info." Lyon complimented him.

"However, your real threat is the Salamander. The guy named Natsu." Zarti told him. "Consider this a warning."

"I'm not worried. They can't beat me and my ice blade that surpasses Ur's." Lyon told him, his confidence passing the line separating it from arrogance. Zarti chuckled.

"That sounds very reliable. So...shall I join the battle as well?" Zarti offered his strength.

"Huh? You can fight?" Toby shouted in shock.

"Yes..." He chuckled again. "I know a little bit of the 'Lost Magic'."

"Huh? L-Lost magic?" Toby shuddered.

"What a creepy guy..." Lyon muttered. Suddenly, the ruins started to shake. "What the...?"

"An earthquake?" Toby asked as he felt the floor beneath him shaking and then suddenly starting to tilt to the side.

"T-This is...?" Lyon watched the floor tilt.

"The ruins are collapsing!" Toby screamed in fear.

"No! They're being tilted!" Lyon corrected him as the mountain was now tilted to the side, preventing the moon from shining its power at Deliora.

"Hehehe, he's already done it." Zarti chuckled as a hole in front of him showed Natsu at the bottom floor. Natsu looked back up at him and then smirked. Lyon and Toby walked over to the hole, the former glared at the pink-haired mage.

"HIM!" Toby shouted in shock.

"Y-You...what is the meaning of this?" Lyon growled and glared down at him.

"The ruins are tilted...aren't they?" Natsu matched his glare. "Now the moon won't shine on the Devil underground."

"You..." Lyon growled in anger.

"I don't get it...what happened?" Toby asked in confusion.

"He destroyed about one half of the props that supported these ruins making them tilt. With this, moon drip won't reach Deliora." Zarti explained. "You're pretty smart, despite your appearance."

Natsu glared up at him. 'This woman...what the hell is her problem?' He wondered, but disregarded his thought and ignited his feet.

"Flame on his legs?" Lyon said.

"Oooon... he can create flames on any part of his body." Toby exclaimed in shock.

Natsu roared and launched himself at Lyon, smashing his head into his gut. However, it wasn't the real Lyon as the body was made of ice and it started to crack before breaking into many ice shards. Natsu knew this would happen and looked to his right to see the ice mage preparing his next attack. "Let's see you..." Lyon couldn't finish as Natsu suddenly appeared in front of him with a smirk and a fist raise at the level of his head. "W-What?"

"Too slow." The dragon-slayer told him as he punched the guy in the face, making Lyon groan in pain and crash into a wall. Natsu landed on the ground as well and cracked his knuckles. "Come on...I know than that is not all you got..." Lyon stood up from the rubble and glared at Natsu. His cheek bruised from the punch he received.

"You..." Lyon growled and clenched his fist tightly. "Take this!" He launched his attack, ice eagles flying straight toward to the cause of his bruise cheek and the delay of his plan. Natsu felt like yawning at such a weak attack, but didn't; he took a deep breath until his cheeks were puffed.

"Salamander's roar!" He then blew out fire that melted every single ice eagle, making his opponent glared at him as the flame dispersed, revealing a smirking dragon-slayer.

"You're really pissing me off." Lyon told him.

"Good... then I'm doing my job..." Natsu replied and ran towards him, Lyon pulled his arm back, clenched his fist and was preparing to strike the pink-haired with his magic, until the floor under Natsu crumbled and he fell through it. 'Damn it...I can't believe I fell for it even though I already knew she was going to do this...' Lyon was too surprised by this; his fist no longer glow a light blue color and turned his head toward the culprit.

"What did you do, Zarti?" Lyon asked.

"I'm sorry...I don't know what you mean..." He replied like a child guilty of doing something that would get him in trouble.

"Don't act so naïve...it's your magic that made the floor crumble, isn't it? Zarti chuckled.

"Excellent, Reitei-sama...you saw through it..." Lyon narrowed his eyes at the mask wearing man. "But please understand...I cannot lose you until we revive Deliora."

"Hmph... you really think I'll lose to his flame?" Lyon's form started to glow a light blue color and the ground around him and Natsu froze, making Zarti and Toby backed away as the ice blocked them from interfering with the fight. The pink-haired climbed out of the hole he fell through and saw what the ice mage did. "Get lost. I'll take care of him myself." Lyon told Zarti and Toby with his eyes glaring at the dragon-slayer, giving him his full attention. "I, Reitei Lyon, am the only mage that can defeat Deliora. It would disgrace my name if I can't even beat this brat."

"My, my..." Zarti chuckled.

"You really think you can defeat Deliora? Don't be an idiot." Lyon intensified his glare as Natsu wiped his pants. "If Deliora can be beaten by you, then this world would have one less problem that it had to deal with."

"W-What did you say...you insect?" Lyon gritted his teeth and clenched his fists in furious anger.

"What? I'm only saying the truth...after all, Deliora is already de-I mean halfway dead anyway..." He cursed himself for almost slipping the truth.

"You bastard...what the hell do you know about what I had to go through?" He yelled.

'Hehe...more than you think...' Natsu mentally chuckled.

"I had enough of you! Die!" Lyon roared and shot out more ice eagles.

"This attack again!" Natsu inhaled and then released another roar of fire. However, Lyon was anticipating this and stormed through the flames as they were dissipating. Natsu wasn't expecting this, but he had fast enough reflexes to side step his fist that was formed into an ice wolf, and kneed Lyon in the stomach with a smirk in his face; jumping back after it to make some space between the two, he thought with a scowl of annoyance. 'Damn it...what the hell is taking Gray so long?'

* * *

><p>"Lyon has always wanted to surpass Ur, but now that she's gone, he's trying to surpass her by defeating Deliora that not even she could defeat." Gray told Erza, Lucy and Happy as the four of them headed toward the ruins.<p>

"I see..." Lucy frowned. "In order to surpass the dead, that'd be the only way..."

"Aye!" Happy agreed.

"No... he just doesn't know the truth..." Gray told her.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Erza asked.

"Ur did disappear, but...she's still alive!" The three of them widened their eyes in shock as Lucy let out a scream in surprise.

"Eeeehhh! B-But how?" Lucy asked.

"No way!" Happy gawked in surprise.

"What do you mean? What happened in the past?" Erza asked.

"10 years ago..." Gray started and told them the truth about what happened between his teacher and Deliora.

* * *

><p>"You cowered! Stop running away!" Lyon yelled as Natsu dodged Lyon's ice wolf repeatedly.<p>

'Trust me...you wouldn't want that...' Natsu thought, dodging another ice wolf. 'Damn it...where the hell are you, Gray?' Natsu wondered and did a back flip to make space between him and Lyon.

"You bastard..." He growled and glared at his opponent.

"Yeah...yeah..." The pink-haired groaned. Just then, the ice to his right shattered and Gray appeared from behind it, a look of determination on his face. 'Finally!' The boy sighed. "You're late."

"Natsu let me take care of him." Gray responded.

"Okay."

"Damn it! I said let me...wait what?" Gray started yelling, but then stopped when he realized what the known-stubborn-dragon-slayer said.

"I said go for it." Natsu told him. "He's your opponent, not mine."

"Huh?" Gray blinked at him in confusion.

"Just don't be an idiot and use Ice Shell." Natsu told him.

"Heh? How did you...?"

"...lucky guess…" Natsu responded after a small pause.

"Like hell that is!" Gray yelled. Natsu cursed mentally and prayed for anything to get him out of this situation. His prayers were answered when Lyon chuckled.

"So...you were planning on using Iced Shell on me...Gray." Said boy turned his attention away from his companion to the speaker. "You really are an idiot. Not only that, but there is no way you have the guts to use that spell!"

"Oh yeah!" Gray told him and then put his arms in front of him and crossed them at the wrist. Gray's body began to glow as he prepared himself to use Iced Shell, Lyon's eyes widened in shock.

"Y-You...have you gone mad?" Lyon yelled at him.

"No... Lyon… it is you who has gone mad! I'll give you a chance. Return the people back in the village to normal and take your pals and leave...or else..." Gray threatened.

"I see...so that spell was just a threat...you sure did scare me...but I knew you didn't have the guts to use it..." Lyon chuckled. "Ridiculous..."

Gray then let out a burst of magic that blew by Lyon; the guy shielded his eyes and tried his best to keep himself from being pushed back, Natsu doing the same. "I'm serious." Gray told him.

"You..." Lyon growled and tried to fight back with a spell, but was blown away by another burst of magic.

"The fact that Ur died because of me will never change...regardless of how many years have gone by." Gray said. "I need to take responsibility one way or another." Lyon's eyes widened in surprise at how serious Gray was, Natsu sighed. "The time has come. I'm prepared to die."

"Are...are you serious?" Lyon responded.

"Answer me...Lyon!" Gray suddenly shouted. "Do we die together or...live together?"

"Go ahead." Lyon smirked. "You don't have the guts to die."

"You disappoint me...Lyon..." Gray responded. "This is the end...Lyon! Ic..." Gray was ready to use the spell before Natsu punched Gray in the face.

"You asshole!" He shouted as Lyon was surprised at the sudden attack by Gray's comrade. Gray placed a hand on his cheek and looked up at Natsu.

"Natsu..."

"What? I just felt like punching you." Natsu responded. Gray made a noise in surprise. "Besides, don't just go and decide to kill yourself because you want the coward's way out of facing your burden." Gray's eyes widened in surprise. "Stop running away, Gray, if you keep doing that, then why the hell are you a member of Fairy Tail?" Gray's eyes widened further. "Everyone one of us has a past we wish we could change or forget...but...there is no way none of us could do that if we keep running! Go ahead and kill yourself...but remember this...every time that you do try...my fist will be ready!" Gray was speechless. He lowered his head and looked down at the ground. He then looked back up when Natsu offered his hand. "Now...get your ass up and kick his ass or I'll do it myself." Gray looked at him for a few seconds and then smirked. He took his hand and Natsu helped him up.

"No way, dragon breath! He's mine." Natsu smirked at his response.

"Sorry to break this moment for you two idiots..." Lyon interrupted them. "But I can't afford to keep you two alive any longer...prepare you-" He stopped when the ruins began shaking.

"W-What's going on?" Gray asked. Natsu wasn't surprised as the ruins began tilting back to where they originally were.

Meanwhile...

Lucy, Erza and Happy just finished beating up the spell casters that ambushed them earlier as they heard the sound of something shaking and moving. "What's that sound?" Erza asked.

Lucy looked toward the ruins and her eyes widened in shock. "No... no way... the ruins aren't tilted anymore..."

Back with Gray and Natsu...

"What the hell? Why are the ruins no longer tilted?" Natsu asked, slamming his foot down on the ice covered ground.

"Damn this...now the moon drip will shine on Deliora again..." Gray cursed.

"I'm sorry to disturb you..." Zarti spoke as he entered the arena that Lyon created. "Hohoho...the sun will set soon, so I shunted the ruins back to normal."

"Zarti...it was you." Lyon narrowed his eyes at him.

"W-Who's he?" Gray asked.

"Damn you...how dare you ruin my hard work?" Natsu yelled while pointing a finger at him.

"Hohohoho!" Zarti chuckled like Santa Clause. He then turned around and started running off. "I better go prepare the moon drip ritual." Natsu's eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

"Don't ignore me you asshole!" Natsu ran after Zarti.

"Ah! Natsu!" Gray shouted.

"I told you! That it isn't my fight! Just remember...if you try to use that spell, my fist will be ready to punch that ugly face off your face!" Natsu shouted back.

Gray looked at him and then smirked. "That didn't make sense...you idiot..." Gray turned around to face Lyon. "But...thanks."

Lyon sighed. "What a bunch of noisy brats..."

"Earlier...when I tried to use Iced Shell...did you know that Natsu would stop me?" Gray asked.

"Nope...I didn't even think he could get close to that magic..." Lyon answered truthfully.

"So...you were going to take it?"

"Yup." Lyon said and crossed his arms. "But...I'd figured I would get saved anyway. That's why I said, 'Do it'."

"I see..." Gray figured out why he said to do it.

"Even if I'd be enclosed in the ice...I still got my comrades. Not only that, but we're on this island so all they need to do is used moon drip on me and I'll be set free." Lyon explained.

"I was rash..." Gray muttered. 'Did Natsu know about this too?' He wondered. 'Nah... that idiot is too stupid to know about something like that...'

Natsu let out a sneeze as he chased after Zarti. 'For some reason...I want to punch Gray again...I don't know why...but...oh well...I'll punch him anyway...'

"Iced Shell is useless here, isn't it?" Gray continued.

"So...you still intend to fight me?" Lyon smirked. "You know you can never def-"

"Let's stop." Gray stopped him from saying anything else.

"W-What?"

"Give up on Deliora." Gray told him.

"What is this nonsense you're spewing?" Lyon asked, chuckling a bit. "First a threat and now a persuasion? What has Fairy Tail done to the Gray I have known?"

"Lyon...Fairy Tail has made me different...I only wish you were a member of this guild so you could see...so that you could change...but this isn't the time for that...Lyon...listen to me...Ur...is alive." Lyon's eyes widened in shock. "Iced Shell is a spell that transforms the user into the ice. What I'm saying is...that Ice down below...that was used to seal Deliora...that is Ur. The ice you have been melting is Ur, Lyon! Ur is still alive...as the ice..." Gray lowered his head. "I'm sorry for not telling you this...but I promised Ur..." Lyon lowered his head so that his eyes were hidden behind his bangs. He then walked forward.

"Gray..." Lyon muttered.

"Lyon...let's just...sto-" Gray's eyes widened when he felt something pierce through him. He spat out blood.

"I already know that." Lyon told him and smirked. "You're wasting your breath. That's no longer Ur. It's just a scrap of ice." He pulled his sword out of Gray and kicked him away. Gray groaned in pain and held his new wound.

"Y-You...You knew and..." Gray let out another groan and spat out more blood.

"Don't tell me you seriously believed that Ur is still alive?" Lyon chuckled. "Grow up already."

Gray glared up at Lyon as he took in deep breaths. "You knew it...but you...y-you still did this...you bastard..."

* * *

><p>"I said wait up!" Natsu yelled at Zarti.<p>

"Hohohoho!" Zarti chuckled. He then raised his hand up at the ceiling and it started to crack. Natsu looked up and smirked as he ignited his feet. The ceiling then crumbled and the debris started falling down at him.

"That won't work on me!" Natsu shouted and kicked the debris away. He landed on the ground and stared at Zarti. The masked man smirked and Natsu watched as the broken pieces rose up to fix the broken ceiling.

"Impressed." Zarti chuckled.

"Not really..." Natsu answered. "How long do you plan on being in that disguise?"

"Oh my...you miss my true form already?" Zarti chuckled.

"Nope...I just want you to tell me why you are here." Natsu answered back.

"You're such a tease...Natsu-kun." Natsu scowled.

"I don't even know what that means." Zarti chuckled.

"Of course you don't." Natsu raised an eyebrow.

"Enough of the small talk... why are you here?" Natsu asked again.

"Sorry...but that information is classified." Zarti responded.

"Like hell!" Natsu yelled. "Answer me or I'll punch you!"

"Would you really hit a beautiful woman like myself?" Zarti asked.

"Huh? I don't see anyone like that. All I see is a mask wearing monkey!" He smirked and Zarti felt a vein pop in his head.

"You really shouldn't make me angry...Natsu-kun..." He threatened.

"Then tell me, why are you here?" Natsu asked once more.

"Sorry..." Zarti raised his hand and did the same move he used before. Natsu knew he was only using this as a diversion, but let him do it anyway and jumped away to avoid getting hit from the falling debris. When he looked back at Zarti, he was gone.

"They always run..." He groaned and then ran after Zarti.

* * *

><p>Gray punched Lyon in the face as Lyon spat out blood from the blow. Lyon was surprised by this. "H-How...How can you move with an injury like that?"<p>

"I'm fed up..." Gray muttered as he took a deep breath. Lyon raised an eyebrow. "I wanted to save you...but...I'm fed up with it..." Gray then created a bow with three arrows out of ice and aimed them at Lyon. Lyon's eyes widened as Gray shout the arrows at him, getting a direct hit and sending him flying back. He bounced up and down before rolling onto one knee and skidded to a stop. He gritted his teeth in anger, but it was then when Gray's knee hit him, sending him back some more. However, Gray didn't stop and kicked him in the gut. He then grabbed the cloth around his neck and delivered a punch to Lyon's face again. Lyon struggled to get up, using the wall to support himself as he took very quick and shallow breaths.

"I-I can't be...bleeding because of Gray...!" He growled in anger. "Ice Make: Snow Dragon!" Gray's eyes widened as a giant dragon made of ice tore through the room they were in. The dragon then hit Gray directly, using its jaws to chomp at his body. Gray groaned and spat out blood as he did his best to get out of the dragon's grip. Gray gritted his teeth and smashed his elbow on the dragon, breaking it and fell to the floor. "Haa...I don't want to waste my magic on you...haa...after this, I've gotta be ready for my fight with Deliora."

"Haa...I won't let you..." Gray responded, struggling to get up.

"Stop struggling, Gray! Deliora will arrive in no time! No one can stop it..." Lyon shouted.

"I will...haa...stop it..." Gray groaned.

"You say that while you grovel before me..." He said while removing his cloak. "Zarti is preparing the ritual and knowing him...he won't let anyone stop the ritual...even to someone like that idiot."

"Hehe..." Gray chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Lyon asked, annoyed by his laughter.

"You don't get it...do you? Natsu will stop him. Don't underestimate Natsu... no... never underestimate Natsu!"

* * *

><p>"It's time..." Zarti said while looking up at Deliora.<p>

"Gotcha!" Natsu roared and Zarti jumped away, allowing Natsu to strike the ground he was just standing on. "Burn!"

"Hohoho! What a delightful thing to say...Natsu-kun..." Zarti chuckled. "But...how did you find me?"

"Your smell." Natsu replied.

"Your making me blush." Zarti smirked.

"Creepy..." Natsu muttered, feeling a shiver run down his spine.

"Hohoho...but I'm sorry, Natsu-kun...I really need to revive Deliora..." Zarti told him.

"Why's that?" Natsu asked.

"Sorry, that's a secret." He chuckled.

"Damn you..." Natsu growled.

"Anyway...it is too late..." Zarti told him. Natsu knew what was going to happen and turned his head to see the moon drip shining down on the ice. Natsu turned his head back around and glared at Zarti.

"Oh? You don't look surprised." Zarti noticed.

"No...I am." Natsu replied. "I just want to make sure you don't run away again."

"Oh?" Zarti said. 'Interesting...'

"Let's do this!" Natsu jumped and threw a punch at Zarti.

"Oh...wise move to not use your flame magic..." Zarti commented. "If you did, it would have only accelerated the melting process."

"Shut up!" Natsu yelled and tried kicking him. "I'll end this quickly and then take out the guy above!"

"Oh? Let's see you try!"

* * *

><p>"The ruins are shaking again..." Gray mentioned as he wiped the blood from his mouth.<p>

"The moon drip ritual has started..." Lyon smirked. "Deliora's ice is melting."

'Ur...' Gray's eyes widened.

"I guess this is it." Lyon put on a smug look. "You couldn't stop us...Gray. How long have I waited this day?" Lyon summoned more ice eagles. "For ten years, I have been gathering information and recruiting comrades. Then I found, 'Garuna Island', the island where the moonlight gathers." Gray crossed his arms in front of his chest as the ice eagles connected. "We brought Deliora here from Brago." Gray used his magic to create a shield to block the ice eagles. "That was three years ago."

"So...you've wasted three years to find such a ridiculous thing." Gray commented.

"Ridiculous?" Lyon muttered in disbelief by the word. He then felt his anger grow. "How can you say that...? You, who has been dissipated in a guild for ten years!" He created an object of ice and slammed it on top of Gray's head. Gray raised his arms to block the ice attack from hitting his head directly. He glared at Lyon.

"I just believed in Ur's words." Lyon raised an eyebrow. "Fairy Tail is where I wound up. She was right; there are many strong mages...I couldn't believe my eyes. Now that I think about it...Jii-san did mention of a spell that could melt the ice...he must have meant moon drip. I'm really disappointed that my senior is doing something that is going to kill Ur." Lyon scoffed.

"Whatever...I have waited for this day...now that our teacher is dead, think carefully of how her left-behind pupils can do something to surpass her! With Deliora...I will surpass Ur! The only thing she couldn't do!" Lyon charged at Gray, created a wolf mad of ice on his fist.

"Your aspiration is admirable..." Gray told him as Lyon threw the wolf at Gray. "...but you failed to notice that you chose the wrong path! Someone so blind is trying to surpass Ur? YOU'RE 100 YEARS TO EARLY FOR THAT! GAME OVER, TRY AGAIN!" Gray created an ice sword and swung it, slicing Lyon. However, Lyon soon turned into ice, surprising Gray and reappearing behind him.

"Ice Make: Snow Tiger!" Lyon shouted as a large tiger made of ice roared at Gray. The ice mage's eyes widened in shock, however, he used his own magic to counter.

"Ice Make: Prison!" Gray jumped and created a large prison of ice, trapping the ice tiger in it; Lyon's eyes widened in shock. "Is that all you got?" Gray flipped in the air. "Such a pitiful beast!"

"Ridiculous! I'll just smash your mold-" He stopped when he saw that his ice tiger wasn't able to break free from the prison. "W-What?"

"One handed molding is unbalanced." Gray said as he landed on the ground. "That is why you are incapable of using your magic at its full power at important times." Lyon gawked in shock as Gray molded a large cannon made of ice. "Ice Make: Ice Cannon!" Gray shouted and out from the cannon shot a large bullet of ice that slammed into Lyon, sending him crashing into the ruins, causing a large explosion outside. When the smoke cleared, a torn up Lyon had his mouth wide open in shock, blood dripping from his mouth. "That's what Ur taught us."

"Gr-" Lyon shook as he tried to raise his hand. "You..." He looked up before spat out blood and dropped to the ground unconscious.

Gray let out a sigh. It was over. He suddenly felt pain course through his body, starting from the wound he received from Lyon at the start of the fight. He grabbed it and fell to the ground in pain. "I should stop the bleeding first." He muttered and froze his wound.

"WRAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" A loud and powerful roar was heard throughout the island; making the ruins, in which Gray was in, shook.

"W-What? What is that noise?" Erza asked as Lucy shrieked in fear.

"Damn it! It hurts!" Natsu screamed, covering his ears.

"Hohoho...it is finally here!" Zarti celebrated, clenching his fist.

'This roar...I could never forget it...' Gray thought, his body shaking. Lyon's eyes opened in shock at the roar. 'I have no choice...I'm sorry Natsu...but...I have to use it!' Gray clenched his fists and started running toward the cave where Deliora was.

* * *

><p>Deliora let out another roar. "Yes! It's finally here!" Zarti shouted in excitement.<p>

'Damn...I can't believe I forgot just how loud this monster is...my ears hurt like hell!' Natsu thought, holding his ears.

"What was that voice just now...? Wait, was it really even a voice?" Lucy asked.

"Maybe it was your tummy, Lucy." Happy said.

"You're probably kidding, but it's still annoying." Lucy commented.

"Could it be that Deliora, Gray was talking about?" Erza wondered and Lucy screamed in fear.

"What? No! It can't be! It has revived already?" Lucy screamed, putting her hands to her cheeks.

"Ah! That light?" Happy exclaimed pointing to a hole in the floor on the level they were on. "It's moon drip!"

Another roar was let out. "Again..." Erza muttered.

"You should really eat something, Lucy." Happy told her.

"You should be eaten by mice." Lucy retorted back.

"We heard Deliora's roar, but the moon drip ritual is still going on..." Erza crossed her arms. "Meaning that Deliora isn't fully revived yet..." She then looked at the stairs. "Let's go!" Erza told the other two.

"Huh? But isn't Deliora down there?" Lucy asked.

"If we interrupt the ritual, we can still stop the revival." Erza looked behind her. "Hurry!"

"Hai!"

"Aye!"

* * *

><p>Natsu jumped to the side as the orb passed him. However, he didn't stop and dodged it again as Zarti controlled the orb's movements. 'Damn this technique is annoying...' Natsu knew he couldn't destroy it, so he kept on dodging.<p>

"Impressive...Natsu-kun..." Zarti chuckled. "You are able to dodge my orb so well...but let's see you dodge it when I fast forward the orb's 'time' to the future..." He smirked. Natsu knew what was coming and thought of a way to dodge it. There was only one thing he came up with. He took a deep breath and waited for the attack. When it came, he opened his eyes and allowed the orb to attack him. Zarti smirked as his attack connected, but then to his surprise, Natsu's body turned into flames. "Nani?"

"You weren't expecting that, huh?" Zarti made a noise in surprise as Natsu appeared behind him and when he turned his head, Natsu delivered a strong right fist to his face. "Iron Fist of the Salamander!" Natsu roared as Zarti rolled and flipped in the air until he crashed into the wall. "Ah! That felt good!" Natsu smirked. 'Although...I do feel bad about hitting him this time...I guess it's because I know he's a girl...hmm...strange...oh well...' Natsu turned his head around to look up at Deliora, who was almost out of his ice.

"Take this!" Erza shouted and struck Toby as the moonlight stopped entering the hole.

"You did it, Erza!" Lucy squealed. "Yay! Moon drip stopped!"

"Oooohn..." Toby groaned in pain.

"Huh? He was the only one who was doing it?" Happy noticed.

"Fools! It's too late! You failed!" Toby shouted.

"What?" Erza's eyes widened in shock as a powerful light escaped from the hole and up to the sky.

"The ritual is complete!" Toby shouted as Deliora let out a loud roar.

"N-No..." Lucy muttered in shock and fear.

"Ur..." Gray muttered as he picked up some of the water that came from the melted ice of his teacher.

"You're here...Gray...' Natsu said, not turning around to look at him.

"Natsu..." Gray said his name.

"Yes..." Both of them turned around to see a crawling Lyon. "I-It's i-impossible for you...hehe...l-let me...s-surpass U-Ur..."

"Lyon..." Gray frowned at his senior.

"Don't waste your breath." Natsu told him. "It's almost impossible for you now."

"Shut up!" Lyon yelled. "D-Deliora...we finally m-meet..." He chuckled and used whatever strength he had to stand up. "The only monster...that Ur couldn't defeat...I will defeat it...with my own hands...right now...I will surpass you now!" Lyon shouted, remembering some of the memories he had with his teacher. Natsu ignored him but Gray's seen enough. He chopped Lyon in the back of his neck, knocking him back down.

"That's enough...Lyon..." Gray said and he crossed his arms at his wrist. "I'll seal Deliora!" Natsu sighed.

"Don't do this Gray!" Lyon shouted. "Do you know how long I have waited for this day? If you use that spell, I'll just unfreeze him again! It would just be an endless cycle!"

"I'm sorry, Lyon...Natsu...everyone...this is the only way...' Gray told them. Natsu then grabbed Gray's head and slammed it down to the ground. "Ugh...what the hell...?" Gray said while his face was in the ground.

"I told you before...stop running..." Natsu told him. "Besides...there is no need..."

"Huh?" Gray lifted his head as soon as Natsu let go. "What are you talking about?"

"Think about it..." He responded. "He's been frozen for ten years..."

"What are you getting at?" Lyon shouted.

"Ur didn't fail..." Natsu told them. "Deliora died a long time ago..."

"W-What?" Both Gray and Lyon muttered in shock as Deliora let out another roar. The monster then raised his arm.

"Watch." Natsu said. All three watched as Deliora raised his arm as high as it could.

_I'm sorry...Natsu..._

Natsu's eyes widened in horror as the arm that was supposed to start breaking apart didn't. The arm was heading down at the three and Natsu used his fast reflexes to pick up both Gray and Lyon and jumped out of the way to dodge Deliora's strong attack that crushed the ground they were previously standing on. Natsu dropped both Gray and Lyon on higher ground and then turned his head back at Deliora. 'Z-Zeref...you bastard!'

"Oi Natsu! What the hell?" Gray shouted at him. He grabbed his scarf and pulled Natsu closer to him. "What was with all the Deliora being dead crap? He doesn't look dead to me!" He pointed at Deliora.

'Damn you...Zeref...' Natsu thought as he didn't know how to respond. He grabbed Gray's wrist and made him remove his hand from his scarf. He pushed Gray back a little and then turned back around to see Deliora glaring at them. "Gray... take Lyon and get out of here..." Natsu told him.

"What?" Gray shouted in shock. "Like hell I'm letting you take on Deliora by yourself!"

"D-Deliora...he's mine!" Lyon shouted.

"Both of you...shut the hell up!" Natsu shouted at them. He turned his head to give them a very cold and hard glare. "Get out of here!" He growled and it made both Gray and Lyon freeze in fear.

"R-Right..." Gray eventually muttered and went to grab Lyon. He turned his head toward Natsu before leaving with Lyon.

'Zeref...what the hell is the meaning of this?' Natsu thought in anger as he glared at Deliora.

_I'm sorry...Natsu...but...I need to see more of your strength..._

'I thought you said to not change the past...so then why the hell are you doing this?'

_I know...you are right...but...this is necessary..._

'Don't fucking screw with me!' Natsu thought angrily. 'Fine then...if you want to change the past...then so will I...I won't tell anyone about me coming from the future...but know this...if you ever do something like this again...I will make changes and I will make sure that all of these changes will still lead me to kicking your ass and protecting my friends!' Natsu ignited his fists and then jumped down at Deliora. "Waaaaahhhh!" Natsu roared and struck Deliora in the face. However, it didn't do anything. 'Crap!' Natsu cursed and watched as Deliora raised his fist. He crossed his arms in front of him and the punch sent Natsu flying straight into the wall. "Gah!" Natsu spat some blood. 'So strong...' He fell to the ground.

"Wraaaahhhh!" Deliora roared.

"Gray!" Gray turned his head to see Lucy, Happy and Erza running toward them.

"Erza! Lucy! Happy!" Gray said their names.

"What's going on?" Lucy asked. Gray lowered his head and gritted his teeth.

"D-Deliora...was revived..." All three of them gasped.

"N-No way..." Both Happy and Lucy muttered in shock.

"Where's Natsu?" Erza asked, not seeing him anywhere.

"He's down there...fighting against Deliora..." He responded and Erza's eyes widened.

"What? Is he insane?" Lucy shouted. Erza didn't waste any time and ran down to where Deliora and Natsu were.

"Ah! Erza! Don't!" Gray shouted after her. However, Erza didn't stop.

'Natsu...why are you fighting it alone...don't tell me...are you planning on using that technique...!' Erza felt a feeling of worry enter her body that increased the closer she got.

Natsu coughed and spat out some more blood as he pushed himself up and looked up at Deliora. "Damn...you're an ugly thing..." Natsu said. Deliora seemed to have understood him and let out another roar. He raised his arm and then slammed it down again. Natsu used his speed to dodge his attack and got up to higher ground. He glared down at Deliora. "Looks I have no choice..." Natsu clenched his fist. "I'm sorry...Erza..." His entire arm ignited in a large flame and when it dispersed, his arm turned into his dragon arm. "Dragon Metamorphosis...Arm of the Salamander."

"Wraaahhhh!" Deliora roared and clenched his large fist. He then threw his fist at Natsu, to what he raised his arm to stop it with his open palm. However, something was wrong, Natsu grabbed his dragon arm with his free hand to hold it in place, but he was slowly being pushed back and his arm was hurting him.

'What the hell...? So strong...' Natsu thought as the pain he felt in his dragon arm increased the longer he tried to hold back Deliora's fist. 'Don't tell me...this is Zeref's doing!'

_Yes...Natsu...I'm sorry...but I made Deliora stronger than what Lullaby was...I'm afraid you need more than this level of strength to defeat Deliora...I'm sorry...Natsu..._

'Shut the hell up, you bastard!' Natsu angrily thought and finally pulled back, by jumping away, allowing Deliora's fist to crash into the wall behind him. Natsu fell down one level and turned around to glare up at Deliora. 'Damn...looks like this is gonna be tough...'

"Natsu!" Natsu's eyes widened at the voice and turned his head to see Erza.

"Erza...why are you...?" Natsu muttered, his eyes widened in shock. Deliora let out another roar and he turned his attention back to the monster. Deliora opened his mouth and let out a large magic beam down at Natsu.

"Natsu!" Erza screamed as Natsu raised his dragon arm up to defend himself. The beam connected, but Natsu felt an intense pain emitting from his dragon arm and dropped to one knee as smoke covered the surrounding area. "Natsu!" He heard Erza scream his name again.

'Damn...looks like I have to go beyond 10%' Natsu stood up and clenched both his hands. He inhaled oxygen and clenched his human hand tightly. 'Let's do this!' He ignited his entire arm and he watched as the smoke around him was dispersing, allowing Erza to see Natsu's form. She let out a sigh of relief that he was okay, but then gasped when she saw what he was doing.

"Natsu...don't tell me..." Erza watched as his other arm transformed into the dragon scales.

"Second Arm of the Salamander!" Natsu said as he revealed both his new arms. Deliora let another roar. "Erza!" The red haired beauty made a noise in surprise at his yell. "I'm sorry...for breaking my promise...but...I have no choice...I have to use this technique to defeat Deliora...so please...get away from here...I don't want anything to happen to you..." Erza made another noise in surprise. She wanted to argue, but she couldn't let out a word. She frowned before nodding her head. She turned around and ran out of the cave. When Natsu couldn't hear her footsteps anymore, he glared up at Deliora. "Alright you ugly thing...let's end this!"

"Wraaaaahhhhh!" Deliora roared and tried slamming his fist down at Natsu. Natsu jumped to avoid becoming a pancake and jumped high enough so that he was at the same level as Deliora's torso. He clenched both his fists tightly and ignited his feet to use them as thrusters.

"Take this!" Natsu yelled and punched Deliora in the chest. Deliora roared in pain and was pushed back, his back touching the wall behind him. Natsu however, wasn't finished. He started a huge barrage of punches that pushed Deliora deeper and deeper into the wall. "Waaaahhhh!" Natsu roared, while he increased the speed of his punches. He then stopped his barrage of punches and pulled one of his arms back. He increased the flames on his feet and then he charged toward Deliora, delivering a strong punch that pushed Deliora through the wall of the cave.

Gray and the others were outside when they suddenly felt the ground shake and then a huge explosion coming from the mountain behind them. They all turned around and they gawked at what they saw.

Erza came out of the ruins, and she as well witnessed what the large sound was.

Deliora was pushed through layers and layers of wall until he appeared outside of the mountain. "N-N-NANI!" They all shouted in shock as Deliora fell down onto the forest, crushing trees and other wildlife in the process.

Natsu used his thrusters to fly up and hover above Deliora's body. Deliora roared and let out another magic beam at Natsu. Natsu wanted to avoid it, but he felt extremely tired and couldn't move away in time. So he crossed his dragon arms in front of his body to the take the full blow of the attack. "Natsu!" Gray and the other shouted in fear that they're comrade could be dead.

However, that was not the case. Natsu whipped his arms back to his sides and glared down at Deliora. He could feel blood dripping from his temples, but he didn't care at the moment. He moved his arms so that they were in front of him and about two feet apart from each other. He had his palms facing each other and Natsu closed his eyes. A small flame was formed in the center and before long, it became a larger flame.

Deliora pushed itself up using his elbows and opened his mouth to charge another magic beam. However, Natsu wasn't going to let him. He opened his eyes and inhaled a large amount of air. "Twin Arms of the Salamander: Roaring Flame Cannon!" Natsu blew out a large amount of fire that was absorbed by the small fire in between his hands and from that burst a large blast of fire magic that from spectators looked like a large beam. Deliora roared in pain as the attack pierced through its chest and then created a large explosion that obliterated Deliora into nothing, as well as obliterating the surround area of the explosion. Luckily, it was nowhere near the village.

The others all covered their eyes as the large wind blew by them. They all had trouble holding their ground at the powerful explosion that just occurred. When the wind settle down, they began lowering their arms and staring in amazement and shock at what just happened. "Y-You got to be kidding...N-Natsu did that..." Gray muttered in shock.

"A-Amazing..." Lucy muttered. She couldn't believe how powerful that technique was. Natsu was strong. Way strong. It just made her speechless at how much stronger Natsu was compared to her strength. She couldn't believe she was still standing after seeing that.

Erza was in awe just like the others were. Natsu was definitely an S-Class Mage. She wondered if he was stronger than Gildarts. However, she frowned. 'He had both his arms transformed...doesn't that mean that he...he loses more of his own life...Natsu...' Erza frowned in worry. She looked up, hoping to spot Natsu in the air. When she did, her eyes widened in horror as Natsu was quickly descending downward. From what she could tell, he was unconscious. "Natsu!" She yelled and ran toward the location where Natsu was going to land.

* * *

><p>"D-Did you see that...Siegrain-sama?' Ultear spoke to the holographic form of Siegrain on her hand. Her eyes widened in shock at the sheer intensity of Natsu's attack.<p>

"Hehe..." Ultear's eyes widened at him. "Interesting...it seems he has gotten stronger..."

"W-What?" Ultear asked, confused.

"Nothing..." Siegrain told her. "Good work, Ultear. Get back here as soon as you can." He said before disappearing.

"H-Hai...Siegrain-sama..." She didn't know why he was so calm about Natsu's strength, but she ignored it and looked back to where Natsu battled Deliora. 'Impressive...Natsu-kun...'

**To Be Continued...**

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><p><strong>Author Notes:<strong> Phew! Done! Hooray! I hope you guys like round two! I'm sorry for updating late, but you know the deal about college and all. I want to thank all of you who have reviewed and stayed with this story. I am so happy to have so many fans of my story. Also...I would like to thank **I.-.-.I Kuroyagi I.-.-.I **for becoming the beta reader for this story. I appreciate this so much! Oh well, I've taken up enough of your time! I hope you all enjoyed! Until next time!

**o**


	13. Natsu's Decision

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related which includes the characters of Fairy Tail.

**Rated M! You have been warned!**

**Not yet Edited! Will be soon!  
><strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter 13: Natsu's Decision<strong>

"NATSU!" Erza screamed as she watched her comrade fall to the ground. She took off, running toward the pink haired dragon slayer, who obliterated the monster Deliora with an attack she couldn't even describe in words. However, the thing that worried her was the fact that he used that technique again. She knew that if he didn't use that technique, Deliora would have probably destroyed not only this island, but also wreak havoc all over the country. She knew he had no choice, but it didn't change the fact that he used a technique that was slowly killing him. Not only that, but she saw him transform both his arms. 'Natsu…' She thought as she ran through the forest. She had this strange feeling that she hoped wasn't true. Was Natsu dying faster when he transformed more of his body? She didn't know if this was true or not, but…she hoped to whatever God or deity out there that it wasn't.

When Erza finally came out of the forest, her eyes widened at the large crater that was created after Natsu's attack. She was speechless. However, she snapped herself out of her trance and looked around for any sign of her comrade. She spotted him in the center of the crater, his back on the ground, and jumped down. She slid down the large slope and then sprinted toward Natsu once she reached the bottom. "Natsu!" She screamed. She fell to her knees next to him and started shaking him. "Natsu! Wake up!" He didn't. He stayed motionless, but Erza saw his chest moving. She sighed in relief. He was still alive. 'Thank goodness…' She thought in relief. She looked around to try and find something she could use to get Natsu out of the crater, but it was useless. She cursed and looked down at him. She sighed once more before grabbing his arm and swinging it over her shoulder. She placed her hand on his waist and then started moving forward. 'You're heavy…Natsu…' She thought, but smiled at him. 'You really have become stronger…but…I didn't think you would go to this length to do it…'

"Erza! Natsu!" Erza raised her head to see Lucy waving at her and Natsu. Erza sighed in relief that she was able to find the others. After barely managing to carry Natsu out of the crater, she wandered into the forest, trying to find either the village or the others. Luckily for her, she found one of the two. "Is Natsu okay?" Lucy asked, frowning at the Dragon Slayer's unconscious form, as Erza was able to make it to the blond mage.

"Yeah…he's fine…just unconscious…" Erza told her. Lucy sighed in relief. "Where are the others?"

"Over there!" Lucy pointed to Gray, Lyon and Happy all sitting around some rocks. Erza nodded and with help from Lucy, the two carried Natsu over to the others.

"Oi, is he alright?" Gray asked as he looked at Natsu.

"Natsu! Please be okay! Speak to me!" Happy cried, flying in front of Natsu.

"He's fine, Happy." Lucy told him. "He's only sleeping."

"Huh? Sleeping? I see! Silly Natsu!"

"Let's set him down." Erza told Lucy. The Celestial Mage nodded and helped the scarlet knight lay Natsu down against a boulder.

"Ne...how the hell did Natsu defeat Deliora? Even Ur couldn't do it." Gray asked, looking at Natsu.

"It's that new technique of his." Erza was the one to answer him. "Dragon Metamorphosis."

"What the hell is that?" The ice mage asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You saw it didn't you...the way Natsu's arms looked." Gray nodded.

"Yeah...it was creepy looking..." He responded with a look of disgust.

"Well, that's what he learned during the two years he was away." Erza told him.

"I see...but why is it that I never heard of it?" Lucy asked.

"It's because it's lost magic." The group turned to Happy.

"Oi...isn't that also forbidden magic?" Gray replied.

Happy nodded. "Aye...but the Magic Council never banned anyone from using it."

"Huh? Why?" Lucy asked.

"The person who taught Natsu how to use it said that Dragon Metamorphosis was a technique that disappeared about the same time that the Black Mage Zeref died." Happy explained.

"Zeref? Just who is he?" Lucy asked. She heard the name before, but there was so little books about him that she didn't know who exactly he was.

"He's an evil mage that lived about 400 years ago. They say his powers were so evil that he was not only the strongest mage of his time, but also the worst. He used his own magic to kill others and caused other destruction." Erza answered her. "Master told me about how evil he was and from the stories he told me, Zeref was a despicable man." Lucy slight shrieked at the glare she had on.

"By the way Happy...who is this so called teacher that you and Natsu met?" Gray made a noise in surprise at the reaction he got from Happy. The blue cat's entire body shook in fear.

"T-T-That man...h-he's evil..." Happy cried, hugging himself.

"I s-see..."

"I don't mean to butt in or anything..." The group turned to Lyon. He looked back at them from his seat on the ground. "...If I recall correctly, lost magic is powerful, from what I just saw, there is no question just how powerful this 'Dragon Metamorphosis' is...however, the stronger the magic, the more risky the consequences are...am I right?" Erza and Happy both made a slight noise in surprise.

"Yeah...that is mostly how magic works..." Lucy replied. "But...does this technique have such a thing?"

"Erza..." Gray said her name. "You know something...don't you?"

The scarlet knight narrowed her eyes to the ground. Should she tell them? Natsu told her that he didn't want the others to know because he knew they would worry about him. He didn't want that. She knew he didn't want that, but she also didn't want to keep secrets from the others. Granted she had a few of her own, but she still felt like telling them the truth about the technique. She looked over at Happy and he looked back at her with a frown. Sighing, she quickly made a decision. She just hoped it was the right one. "The truth is..." She began, but then stopped when she heard Natsu groan and the group looked over to their pink haired dragon slayer.

They all watched as Natsu began opening his eyes. He blinked a couple of times to get his vision cleared before seeing his friends all look at him with smiles. "Natsu!" Both Happy and Lucy screamed and to everyone's surprise hugged him. Lucy was too happy to see Natsu wake up that she didn't realize that she was hugging him. Erza looked at the embrace and felt a weird and unknown feeling in the pit of her stomach. Lucy opened her eyes and finally realized that she was hugging Natsu and felt her face blush in embarrassment. "N-Natsu...this isn't...I mean..."

"Good to see you too...Lucy..." He smiled at her and her blush grew before she let go of him and stood up. She chuckled in embarrassment and avoided eye contact with Natsu. The Dragon Slayer continued to smile at her and then tried to stand up, but felt really weak. He managed to get up halfway before falling back down to his knees.

"Are you alright, Natsu?" Happy asked, frowning at his friend.

"Y-Yeah...I'm fine buddy..." He replied while smiling at him. He raised himself again and this time managed to stay on his feet. "So...what's going on?" He asked looking at everyone.

"Nothing much...just waiting for your lazy ass to get up." Gray mocked.

"Shut up, ice boy." Natsu retorted.

"It's good to see you up and about, Natsu." Erza told him. She then glared at him and he cringed slightly as he somehow knew what she was thinking. 'We are going to talk later about you using that technique!' He gulped and chuckled a bit.

"But isn't this great Natsu! We completed an S Class Mission!" Happy exclaimed in joy.

"That's right!" Lucy regained her composure. "I wonder if we can go up to the second floor now."

"Don't be ridiculous. You disobeyed orders, so you will get punished." Erza corrected her as she cringed in fear.

"But the Master..." Gray tried explaining, but the older woman didn't want to hear it.

"Yes, the Master may have allowed you to go on this quest because Natsu was with you, but don't forget, Natsu declined becoming an S Class Mage and thus is still not qualified to go on S Class Missions."

"Now that you mention it, Erza...everyone..." The group all turned to Natsu. "...I've decided to accept that promotion." All of them gasped at his sudden decision.

"W-What? Wait a minute..." Gray put a hand forward. "...what the hell is wrong with you? First you decline, then you decide to go on the S Class Job and now you want to become an S Class Mage, I don't get you."

"Gray's right Natsu..." Lucy agreed. "...why are you changing your mind now?"

"The truth is...I didn't know myself if I was able to handle an S Class Job. That is why I asked Happy to grab a S Class Job from the second floor so I could see for myself if I can handle the jobs." He grinned. "Turns out, I was ready to be a S Class Mage after all."

"I see...it somewhat makes sense...but...you still broke the rules and will have to be punished for it. Not only that, but this job isn't complete yet." Everyone besides Lyon and Natsu made a noise in surprise.

"B-but with Deliora defeated...the curse should be lifted..." Lucy told her.

"No...Deliora didn't cause the phenomenon you call a curse..." Erza corrected her. "Moon Drip's enormous power harmed people. There is no way this situation will change because Deliora was defeated."

"N-No way..."

"So...how do you expect us to fix this?" Gray asked. He then realized there was someone who might know the answer next to him. He looked at Lyon and he knew what Gray was going to ask him.

"I don't know." He replied.

"Whaaa?" Happy and Natsu both said.

"How can you guys not know about it? If you don't, then how can we help the villagers?" Lucy exclaimed.

"We never went to the village nor did they ever come to use. We've been on this island for three years. We knew that there was a village on the island, but that's about it."

"They never visited you for three years?" Erza asked, surprised.

"Hmm...you know...something feels weird...if they knew that the Moon Drip shone down on the ruins...why didn't they investigate?" Lucy wondered.

"I don't know...but we've also been basked under the same light for three years." Lyon told them as they realized he was right. "They're hiding something. Not that it matters to me anymore...this from now on is a Guild's job correct?"

"Yeah..." Gray muttered. He looked at Lyon with a frown on his face.

"Let's go." Erza told the others. "Let's go find out the truth from those villagers." The group nodded their heads and started walking toward the ruins. Gray stopped after a few steps and then looked back at Lyon.

"What?" The white haired ice mage asked.

"Lyon...I..."

"Don't worry about it...I give up trying to surpass Ur. After I watch your comrade destroy Deliora, I knew that I didn't have a chance to defeat that monster, even if I was at 100%. It sucks, but that is the truth. It's too bad I didn't figure that out before I melted that ice."

"Lyon...I knew how much you wanted to surpass Ur...but I didn't think you would go as far as doing what you wanted to do...but I'm sure that even Ur...even after all you did...she would still be proud to call you her student." He said with a smile.

"Gray...you..." Lyon muttered a his eyes widened in shock.

"Maybe you should join a guild, Lyon. You'll have comrades and rivals. I'm sure that you will find a new goal if you do." He told him before running to catch up with the others.

"Gray...you idiot..."

* * *

><p>"Oh...you are back!" Mocha noticed Natsu and the others arrive at the village. "Tell me mages...when will you finally destroy the moon for us? Hooogggaaa!"<p>

"Hold on a minute..." Lucy raised her hands to try and calm the Mayor down.

"We'll get to destroying the moon in a bit." Erza told him.

"She's saying something that outrageous like nothing." Gray sweat dropped.

"Aye!"

"But before we do anything, I want to ask you something. Can you please get everyone together?"

"Huh? S-Sure..." Mocha agreed to the scarlet knight's request and went to gather everyone. As soon as the entire village arrived, Erza examined everyone one of them. So...let me get this straight...you all gained that appearance when the purple moon showed up, correct?"

"W-Well to be more precise, we only turn like this when the moon is out." Mocha responded.

"That started three years ago, according to your story, correct?" Mocha nodded his head. "However, the Moon Drip ritual has been held daily for three years on this island. You should have been seeing a ray of light at the ruins everyday. Meaning, that's the most suspicious part of the island. So let me ask you this, why didn't you investigate it?" The villagers all looked at each other and began talking amongst each other.

"That's because it is forbidden for us to go to those ruins." Mocha answered for his village.

"Yeah...but...the situation was serious, wasn't it?" Lucy asked. "I mean, you did have casualties and even offered an expensive reward for it."

"Can you tell us the truth?" Erza finished as Mocha started to sweat nervously.

"Honestly...we don't know what is going on. We tried to investigate the ruins a bunch of times. However, we couldn't get anywhere near the ruins, even if some of us charged with weapons. We noticed that every time we tried to go down the road toward the ruins, we would always wind up in front of the village gates."

"What? What do you mean?" Lucy asked as she, Happy and Gray were shocked to hear this.

"We don't know...but we kept it quiet because we thought you wouldn't believe us!" One of the villagers spoke.

"But it's true! We tired many times to get to those ruins!"

"But none of the villagers were able to go there!"

"As I thought..." Erza responded.

"Eh? Erza?" Lucy asked.

"So...you know too Erza..." Natsu said as he looked up to the sky.

"Yeah...but I'm surprised you know..." She replied.

"I'm not a total idiot...I learned a lot of things while I was away for two years." Natsu retorted, narrowing his eyes at her. She smiled.

"Wait a minute...can someone please tell me what's going on?" Lucy asked the two.

"You're an idiot Lucy..." Happy told her as he placed his paw in front of his mouth to stop himself from laughing.

"And like you know what they're talking about?"

A short pause. "...Nope!"

"Stupid cat!"

"Care to tell us...Erza...fire breath...?"

"Just watch and see ice boy!" Natsu retorted as Erza started to use her Requip magic.

"Come with me Natsu. Let's go destroy the moon!"

"EEEEHHHHH?" The other three yelled in shock, their jaws dropping to the ground.

Natsu chuckled and both he and Erza climbed up one of the towers. "Oooooh...are we really going to see the moon get destroyed?" One of the villagers said in amazement.

"Right here and now! Incredible!"

"We're finally going to go back to normal!"

"Destroying the moon? Even if its Erza that is impossible..." Gray muttered.

"Yeah...but how the heck are they going to do something like that?" Lucy wondered.

"Aye! It's kind of exciting!'

"In a way...yeah..." Lucy sweat dropped.

"Are you ready, Natsu?" The scarlet knight asked the pink haired dragon slayer, in which he gave her a nod. "Alright then! This armor is the Giant's Armor. It increases one's throwing power and with this Evil Crushing Spear..." A large spear appeared as she spoke. "...that subdues darkness...we will destroy the moon."

"W-Wait...is she planning to throw that..."

"...at the moon...?" Gray finished Lucy's question. "Impossible..."

"Aye..."

"Natsu...I need your help...I want you to use your flames as thrusters to give me a boost when I throw the spear at the moon."

"Aye!" Natsu responded, sounding like Happy. "Let's do it!"

"Alright!" Titania got into position. "Do it now!" She yelled and started moving her arm as Natsu ignited his arm and punched the back of the spear. "Reach it!" The spear was thrown at a velocity that could rival the speed of sound or even surpass it. The entire village watched with their jaws dropped to the ground as the spear was launched toward the purple colored moon. They all waited in anticipation for the moon to be destroyed, while the three other members of Team Natsu felt nervous.

Finally, the sound of an explosion was heard and the dust from the explosion was seen visible in the sky. Everyone watched as cracks began forming to what they thought was the moon. The villagers all cheered in joy, while Team Natsu was so shocked that they dropped their jaws to the ground, except for Natsu and Erza. Suddenly, the cracks expanded and it no longer looked like the moon was the object cracking into pieces. Instead the entire sky started cracking before it collapsed into many shiny pieces that descended downward toward the island. Everyone was surprised by this.

"W-What...? The moon didn't break...but the sky did..." Lucy commented as she raised her hands to catch the falling pieces in her hand like snow.

"It's because this island was covered by an evil layer." Erza explained.

"Layer?" The blue cat of Fairy Tail asked.

"Think of it as exhaust fumes produced by moon drip. They crystallized and created a layer in the sky. That's why the moon looked purple." The Scarlet Knight explained as the villagers began glowing.

"W-Wow..." Lucy commented at the beautiful light the villagers were emitting from their bodies.

"Now that the layer is gone, the villagers should return to their normal forms." Erza continued and the light soon disappeared, but nothing changed. The villagers all looked the same before there was any light.

"H-Hey...n-nothing happened..." Gray muttered in shock.

"Yeah..." Happy agreed frowning.

"No, that is their regular appearance." Erza told them. "The moon drip didn't affect their appearance, but their memory. 'We became demons at night'...wrong thoughts like that."

"N-N-No way..." Lucy's body shook.

"That's how it is. They were demons to begin with."

"You got to be kidding me!" Lucy shouted, falling to her knees.

"S-Seriously...?" Gray asked one of the villagers.

"W-Well...we're still a little confused..." He responded to his question.

"They all had the ability to transform to humans and came to believe that their true form is that of a human. That was moon drip's effect on their memory."

"But why weren't Leon and the others affected?" Happy asked.

"It's because they were humans. I guess this memory flaw only effects demons. Also, the villagers can't approach those ruins because they are demons. People from the darkness can't approach the ruins that hold holy light." Erza answered his question.

"Amazing...I'm glad I left it in your hands..." Everyone turned their heads to the direction of the voice. Everyone was in complete shock at the sight of the Mayor's son Bobo, who waved his arm at them. "Thank you...mages."

"AAHHHH! GHOST!" Lucy and Happy screamed while they hugged each other.

"Y-You're that sailor!" Gray shouted in shock as well.

"Eh? But...ehhhh?" The villagers shouted.

"Come on! Do you seriously think we demons would die because we were stabbed in the chest? Come on!" Bobo laughed at their reactions.

"B-But didn't you disappear from the ship?" The ice mage of Fairy Tail asked. Bobo smiled at him before suddenly disappearing again, making Gray;s eyes pop out of his eyes in shock.

"I'm sorry for not being able to tell you the truth back then." Bobo's voice was heard and everyone looked up to see him smiling down at them. Gray looked in awe of the wings he had behind his back as the mystery of his disappearance was finally solved. "I got away from the island because I was the only one who got their memory back. I was scared of everyone because they thought they were human." He revealed as his father began crying tears of joy before flying upward to hug his son.

The villagers all celebrated the reunion between father and son as another screamed something about a party to celebrate a job well done by the mages of Fairy Tail. The group decided to join in on the party and were guest of honors.

* * *

><p>Sometime into the night, Natsu slipped away from everyone and walked into the forest. He continued to walk deep into the forest until he came to a stop at the view of the large crater he created after using his Dragon Metamorphosis technique. He looked down at his hand and frowned.<p>

Natsu thought about what Zeref told him. He remembers Zeref telling him specifically to not change anything in the past because of the chance of never meeting him again. However, he already did things that changed the past. An example of that would be transforming Lullaby when they were still at Oshibana. It didn't happen like that, but Zeref made it that way because he wanted test Natsu's strength. He gritted his teeth in anger when it dawned on him the possibility that he may have killed people who stayed behind in Oshibana. The thought of killing those people made him think back to the death of his friends.

No matter if it was in the future or now...Zeref continued to kill people. Granted the people of Oshibana were those that he didn't know, but he still failed in protecting their lives. He didn't know how many people got killed during that fight, but he was certain there were casualties. He trained for two years to get stronger so that no one had to die. He raised his other arm and looked down at both with a frown.

He had the power and yet, there was a nagging voice in the back of his head that told him that it wouldn't be enough to defeat Zeref when the time came. He tried to ignore it, but the voice stuck around like an annoying fly.

Then there was the problem of almost blowing the secret of him coming from the future. The way Gray suddenly grabbed his scarf and demanded an answer from him told him that if Deliora wasn't around he probably would have blown the secret and then everything would have changed. He knew Gray would keep a secret, but the problem is, how long would the secret last. When one person learns a secret, then another would know, then another until a bunch of people know. That is something he anted to avoid. He knew how dangerously close he came to spilling the secret. He had to change. He had to stop giving off these small hints that would threaten the chance of him revealing the secret.

Yes, he had to change. He acted like an idiot because he knew that he always acted like a child. He believed that because of his attitude and naivety, it cost the lives of his friends. He clenched his fists tightly. It was time for him to change. It's time for him to change everything. Zeref was changing the past and he had the right to do so too. He had enough of this. If changing the past meant the possibility of never meeting Zeref and his friends dying anyway, then he was going to change it so that he does meet Zeref and protect his friends as well.

He made his decision. He was going to do things his way. He was brought to the past so that he could become stronger and defeat Zeref. If he wasn't able to do defeat him before, why would doing the same things change anything. Sure he got stronger, but would do really accomplish anything. Natsu didn't know, but it was about time he did things his way and not what some bastard wanted him to do. He would keep the fact that he is from the future a secret and make sure he didn't spill any more info on it, like he did with Gray. It was time for him to change the past. The time to make things go his way and not Zerefs. It was time for Natsu to be the person to defeat Zeref and the man who will protect his friends no matter what challenges come before him.

Acknowledging his decision, he stared in front of him with the eyes that showed every meaning of the word determination. With his decision placed and written in stone in his head, he turned back around to return to the village. When he got there, everyone was knocked out from all the festivities they endured. He smiled when he saw his fellow guild members. 'Everyone...I will protect you...I will make sure that Zeref or anyone else hurt you...I will become the light that will shine on the darkness known as Zeref...' He clenched his fists tightly and looked up to the sky. He grinned before falling down to the ground on his back and falling asleep.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, in the northeastern part of Fiore resided Oak town, an old castle structured town that was situated on a hill and surrounded by forests and mountains with a river flowing nearby. The castle like building was home to a certain guild that was considered one of the strongest legal guilds in the continent, alongside Fairy Tail. The castle belonged to the members of the Phantom Lord Guild. Outside the castle was calm, but inside was a different story.<p>

A black haired man with many round studs, most of them visible on his face, growled in pain as he crashed down onto one of the few tables that were not recently destroyed. Looking around the guild, there were many bodies of beaten Phantom Lord Guild members everywhere. The culprit was hidden behind the shadows as he smirked at the destruction he caused in the guild. He chuckled menacingly as the man he recently thrown started to slowly get up. The black haired man glared at the man hiding in the shadows.

"Damn you..." The black haired man cursed under his breath.

"My, my...is this really one of the two strongest guilds on this continent? Seeing how easy I was able to defeat all of you...I guess your nothing but weaklings." The man in the shadows smirked and pressed his foot deeper into the man that was under it. "See! Even your master is so weak that he didn't stand a chance against me."

"Who the hell are you?" The blacked haired man demanded.

"Why should I tell a weakling who I am?" He replied. "How about you actually beat me...maybe then I might tell you."

"You bastard!" The man charged at him again.

No one was able to see what happened next, but the black haired man was suddenly lifted from the ground, with a hand grasped around his neck. Blood was also seen falling down from his mouth to the floor. "And you were supposed to be the great Iron Dragon Slayer Gajeel...the strongest Dragon Slayer on this continent...when I heard the rumors about a Dragon Slayer here, I assumed it was him, but it seems I was wrong...hehe...to be honest...you're not close to that Dragon Slayer's level." Gajeel looked at the man, gritting his teeth. "But how about I help you with that?" The man then dropped him to the ground and he started catching his breaths. "I hear that you guys have some sort of conflict with another Guild on this continent. It so happens that I heard a rumor of a Dragon Slayer in that particular guild as well. So, how about it...with my help, I'll make you guys the strongest guild and help myself to that Dragon Slayer. Kill two birds with one stone."

Gajeel glared at the man, thinking of the proposal he offered to them. He then smirked. "Sounds interesting..."

"I like your style kid." The man in the shadow responded. "But first...I want you to tell me about this woman you were asked to bring back to that rich man..." He chuckled.

* * *

><p>"You know...that injury might leave you with a scar..." Lucy told Gray as Team Natsu were preparing themselves to set off, back to their Guild.<p>

"I don't care..." He simply replied.

"But it's on your face..."

"I don't care where I get hurt as long as my injuries are visible." He said with a proud smile.

"Hrm? Well said." Lucy replied with wink of the eye.

Natsu didn't say anything and only ate his fire. Normally he would mock Gray, but he made a choice. Then again, whoever said changing was easy. "I guess that'll make you ugly...along with a scar."

"Shut up! Why don't you butt out when I say something cool?" He shouted at his rival as Lucy sighed.

"W-What? You can't accept the reward?" The villagers all gasped as Erza shook her head.

"Yup...your happiness is enough for us. We appreciate it." She told them with a smile.

"B-But..."

"As I told you last night, our guild didn't officially accept your request. A couple of idiots just rushed into the request without doing it properly."

"But that still doesn't change the fact that we were saved by all of you. Will you accept this as a thank you gift to friends, instead of a reward for a guild? Hooogga!"

Erza sighed. "When you put it that way, it's hard to reject your offer."

"Sweet! We're getting 7 million Jewels!" Gray exclaimed in happiness.

"But doing so would go against what our guild stands for, but we're happy to accept the additional reward: The Golden Key" Erza told them.

"I don't want that!" Gray shouted.

"But I do!" Lucy shouted in response as Natsu only chuckled.

"But at least let us take you back to Harujion." Bobo offered.

"No need. We already have a ship ready for us." Erza declined again as the villagers and Team Natsu all looked at Erza in confusion.

With that, Team Natsu said farewell to the villagers and followed Erza to the location of their ship. When they reached the beach, Team Natsu's eyes widened at the pirate ship that was docked on the shore.

"A pirate ship!" Gray shouted in shock.

"Woah...don't tell me you hijacked it Erza!" Happy exclaimed in awe.

"No! I don't want to ride that!" Lucy wrapped her arms around her in fear.

"I'll accompany you if you decide to swim!" Natsu told her and Lucy quickly told him no.

They all got on the boat and as soon as Natsu stepped foot on it, he became sick. The others sweat dropped at him and then Erza told the pirates to start setting sail. "Everyone! Thank you so much!" The group turned their heads to see Bobo shouting at them and waving his hand goodbye. They also noticed some of the villagers were standing behind them, doing the same. Team Natsu all grinned, except for the sick Natsu and waved goodbye to them as well.

"Take care!" Lucy shouted for the team and with that, Team Natsu began their journey home.

* * *

><p>"I'm kind of disappointed with the Deliora case." Ultear spoke as she entered the room Siegrain was reading a book in.<p>

"Well, I can't be helped. However, it helped me a lot." Siegrain replied as he closed his book and settled it down on the table next to him.

"With what?" She asked curiously.

"Sorry, but that is a secret." He told her and she frowned.

"Oh...I though we agreed to not keep secrets."

"Don't worry, it has nothing to do with our plans, I assure you. By the way, did you release the spell over the island before you left?"

"Yes, I did. May I ask why you asked me to do so?"

"I guess as a favor."

"You guess?"

"It's not important. Although, I'm impressed your mother's magic was able to hold such a beast frozen for over ten years."

"You think too highly of my mother, Siegrain-sama."

"Don't say that. I respect your mother for what she was able to do. I bet that if she was still alive, she would be one the Ten Holy Great Mages."

"Hmph...my mother was a pitiable woman possessed by evil and dumped by my father."

"Remember this Ultear...the more important the things you lose, the stronger the powers you gain are. Someone I know, knows that pretty well." Ultear was confused by that, but shrugged it off, knowing he wouldn't tell her even if she asked.

"I'm just a speck in my mother's life."

"Really? Maybe she raised two pupils out of regret."

"Enough about that." She told him and put a finger to his lips. "Rather, let's move onto the next step."

"Hey...you..." Ultear raised her eyebrows in confusion at his shocked expression, until she felt her cheek get swollen. She placed a hand to it to feel it and she screamed as a result.

"Kyaaahh! What is this?" She screamed as Siegrain laughed.

"So, it finally swelled up!" He continued to laugh as she pouted and used her magic to heal the swelling. "So, how what do you think of Natsu?" Ultear wasn't startled by the question, but for some reason, she felt her cheeks get slightly warm.

"He's strong...there is no doubt about that. I'm just glad I didn't face him when he used that technique." She told him truthfully.

"Yes...that ancient lost magic...it sure is quite a sight..." Siegrain smirked. "The child of Igneel...I pray for you to keep on burning...for the sake of my dream..."

* * *

><p>"Finally! We're back!" Lucy cheered as she and the others were making their way back to the guild to reunite with their friends.<p>

"Aye!"

"Man...we went through all of that just for a simple key." Gray sighed, hands in his pockets.

"And it was an S Class job too." Happy added.

"It wasn't an official job so this is fair enough." Erza told them with a smile.

"Yep! No need to complain!" Lucy grinned widely.

"But Lucy is the only one who gained something...we should sell it!"

"What are you saying, you stray cat!" Lucy jumped in surprise at his words. "I've told you before, there are only 12 Golden, Ecliptic Zodiac Keys in the World. They're pretty rare."

"So, which one did you get?" Gray asked.

"Sagittarius, the Archer!" She exclaimed cheerfully, showing Gray the key.

"Sagittarius!" Gray shouted in excitement as an image of what he thought it would looked like showed up in an imaginary bubble above his head.

"N-No...more like this..." Lucy sweat dropped at his image and showed him her view of the spirit, which was opposite of what Gray had.

Erza looked back at them and smiled. She then looked over to Natsu and noticed that he was pretty quiet. "Something wrong, Natsu?" She asked as the others stopped talking and looked at Natsu.

"Not really...just don't have anything to say." He replied with a smile.

"Heh? You have nothing to say? That's a first..." Gray muttered.

"Shut up!" Natsu retorted.

"Oh yeah...that's right...you guys need to be punished once we get to the guild." Erza remembered as the others cringed.

"But I keep telling you Erza! The Master told me to go with Natsu, Lucy and Happy!" Gray defended himself.

"Yeah...and I decided to accept the promotion...doesn't that count as something?" Natsu defended himself. The remaining two had no excuse so they knew they were doomed.

"Even so...you guys broke the rules and have to be punished..." Erza told them. "Although...I kept thinking I could overlook your actions. If what you are saying Gray is true and is confirmed by the Master, then I guess you won't be punished." The group all let out collective sighs in relief. "We'll see once we get back to the guild, let's go!" The team began walking again and as they walked through the town, they began hearing whispers among the civilians. Natsu looked down to the ground with a frown, knowing what he was going to see. The others didn't so he didn't blame them for having confused expressions.

"What's going on?" Lucy asked the question all their minds.

"Something is wrong with the Guild..." Erza said as she stared at the location where their guild was supposed to be. The others looked and saw their guild.

"W-Wha...?" Gray mouthed out in shock.

"No...this is..." Lucy's eyes widened in shock as she placed her hands over her mouth.

Natsu felt a drop of sweat rolling down the side of his face at the familiar scene. "Our guild...who...?" He asked, even though he knew who the culprit was.

"W-What happened here...?" Erza asked, feeling anger build up inside her.

"Phantom." They all turned their heads to see Mirajane walking up to them. "This was Phantoms doing...as well as that mans..."

'That...man?' Natsu thought in confusion. 'Who is she talking about...? Gajeel...? No...just what is going on?' He narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists. Only one suspect that he could think of came to his head. 'Zeref...'

**To Be Continued...**

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes:<strong> Here is the next chapter and I also want to say Happy New Year! I hope you like this chapter and hopefully, it is an improvement from the recent chapters! Let me know, if there is something you don't like or not because I decided to take kick my writer's pride away and follow everyone's advice from here on out. I'm sorry about any of the stuff that made some of you disappointed. Let me know what you guys think.


	14. Natsu is Defeated?

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related which includes the characters of Fairy Tail.

**Rated M! You have been warned!**

**Not yet Edited! Will be soon!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 14: Natsu is Defeated?<strong>

Natsu and the others followed Mirajane down to the basement floor of the guild. The entire Guild turned their heads to see Natsu and the others arrive and greeted them, knowing full well that they already seen what happened to their Guild.

"Yo! Welcome back!"

"Did you guys see what happened to the Guild?" Nab asked them, pointing a finger to the ceiling.

"Damn Phantom! How dare they do this to us?"

"Yeah, we've always been on bad terms with them."

"Let's go and smash them up!"

"Calm down! This is Phantom we are talking about!"

Lucy couldn't help over hearing the chatter amongst the Guild Members. She heard of this Phantom Lord Guild that they were talking about, but she never really knew how much of a rivalry they had with Fairy Tail. Apparently, from the looks of everyone's faces and the destruction they caused, it was very high.

"Yo! Welcome back!" Makarov greeted the group as they approached him. Everyone, except for Natsu were surprised by how calm and cheerful he looked, while sipping his booze.

"We're back." Erza stated as she frowned.

"Oi Master, why are you acting like nothing happened?" Gray yelled, shocking everyone.

"Why are you yelling Gray?" He responded.

"Wha...? What do you mean why I'm yelling? Didn't you see what happened to our Guild?"

"Of course I did, but calm down Gray, there is no need to make such a fuss about it."

"But Master!" Erza yelled this time.

"Look, our Guild was destroyed, but no one was hurt. There is no need to attack someone that resorts to surprise attacks, let it go!" He grinned while waving his hand back and forth.

"Master..." Erza whispered and settled down.

"Damn it..." Gray cursed under his breath. Lucy frowned at the two before looking toward Natsu to find him surprisingly quiet. She would have thought he would be the most upset about this, but looking at what he was doing, he looked like he was deep in thought.

"Natsu...is something wrong?" She asked, but he didn't respond. The others turned their heads to look at him, also surprised by his silence. "Natsu?" She called him again, but louder.

"Hm? Oh...what is Luce?" He asked.

"Are you okay?" She asked, feeling worried.

"Yeah...I'm just thinking about something..." He told her, crossing his arms.

"Huh? Natsu thinking?"

"I never thought I would see the day!"

"Urusai! Don't make me kick your asses!" He yelled at them.

"What were you thinking about?" Erza asked.

"Nothing important!" He told her with a smile. "Oh, by the way, Old Man, I decided to accept!"

"Accept what?" He asked, confused.

"The promotion!" He grinned and everyone, besides the four who already knew of his choice, all looked at him with jaws dropped to the ground and eyes popped out of their heads.

"WHAT?"

"Are you serious?"

"What the hell?"

"First he declines and now he accepts! I can never get into that head of his."

"Don't bother, you will never get out."

"You guys are one remark away from me kicking your asses!" Natsu yelled at them.

"But why did you decide to change your decision?" Makarov asked, eying him carefully.

"It's because I felt like I wasn't strong enough to take on an S Class job. I was really happy when you wanted to promote me, but I wasn't confident. Heh...to say I wasn't confident doesn't sound like me, huh? However, that's why I decided to steal the S Class job, so that I can see for myself that I am able to handle difficult jobs like S Class level jobs." He told him and Natsu made sure there was no hesitation in his voice. Makarov didn't take his eyes off of Natsu as he spoke. He searched for anything in his body movement and his voice to make sure he wasn't hiding anything. Makarov didn't find anything weird and sighed.

"Very well then, meet me tomorrow to get this whole ordeal for your promotion done, okay?"

"You got it!"

"Good! Now then, if you'll excuse me!" He drank the last of his beer and jumped off the stool before running toward the bathroom. "I got to go take a whiz." Natsu looked at the Master of Fairy Tail until he was no longer in sight. He then turned toward Mirajane and walked up to her.

"Ne, Mira-chan...come with me for a bit."

"Huh?" Mirajane made a noise in surprise when he grabbed her hand and started to drag her outside. The other members watched Natsu and Mirajane leave the basement in both surprise and confusion.

"Why does he want to talk to Mira-chan so suddenly?" Lucy asked, feeling a bit funny on the inside.

"I don't know..." Erza responded also feeling the same thing.

* * *

><p>"Umm...Natsu...where are we going?" Mirajane asked, a faint blush on her cheeks as they walked outside.<p>

"There is something I want to ask you?" He told her and he stopped in front of the destroyed Guild.

"W-What is it?" She asked, stuttering a bit. She felt slightly nervous as she looked at Natsu and he stared back at her with a stare that made her knees feel weak. She didn't know why she was feeling this way. After all this was Natsu she was talking to.

"You mentioned something about this man that helped Phantom Lord do this to our Guild, right?" Mirajane let out a sigh in relief. She felt nervous for no reason at all. She nodded in response. "Who was it?"

"Well, I didn't get a good look at him, but from what I saw when I arrived at the Guild early this morning, he had this weapon on his back that looked weird." She replied, placing a finger on her cheeks.

"What did it look like?"

"Hmm...I don't remember much about it. Sorry."

"It's okay, Mira-chan. This man...did he have black hair?"

"No...I think he had red hair, although I couldn't see it clearly...why?" She asked, wondering why he was asking so many questions.

"No reason, I just wanted to know more about the people who attacked our Guild." He replied.

"You're not going to go after them, are you? Master told us not to..." She frowned.

"No, don't worry, I'm not!" He grinned at her. 'Okay then...this guy is not Zeref...' Natsu thought. 'Red hair? Do I know anyone with red hair? Well...Erza, but there is no way she would do it.'

"Natsu..." His thoughts were snapped at Mirajane's voice and he looked at her.

"Oh...sorry about that..." He chuckled.

"You were thinking again, right?" She smiled at him.

"Huh? Ah yeah...sounds weird coming from me, right?" He chuckled again.

"A little...but...I always thought you were smart in some way..." She confessed and Natsu looked at her in surprise.

"I see...well I'm sorry for dragging you out like this..." Natsu apologized and scratched the back of his head.

"It's fine..." She smiled at him. "Actually...not that I think about it, we are running low on some essentials for the Guild. The basement had a bunch of stuff, but since we moved down there for the time being, most of the stuff went away pretty quickly. So, it looks like I have some shopping to do."

"Oh...well how about if I join you?" Natsu offered and Mirajane made a noise in surprise. "What?"

"Ah! Well, I just don't want to bother you in case you have something else to do." Mirajane told him.

"Nope! I would be happy to help!" He grinned. 'Not only that, but it can give me time to try and remember where I remember those weapons from, as well as figure out a plan to prevent Levy, Droy and Jet from getting targeted by Phantom Lord.'

"Really? That's great, thank you, Natsu!" She grinned happily at his offer as a slight blush formed on her cheeks.

"Shall we go?" He asked and Mirajane nodded as the two went off.

"So, did you catch anything?"

"S-Sort of...I heard something about essentials and being out...and then something about Natsu joining her and how he's happy to help..."

"Help with what?"

"I-I don't know..." Both Erza and Lucy frowned as they watched Natsu and Mirajane walk off toward the town.

"What are you guys doing anyway?" Gray asked, scowling at the fact that he was suddenly dragged for no reason whatsoever.

"Nothing!" They both replied quickly, which startled the ice mage.

"What the hell?" He muttered.

"I want to help too!" Happy whined, feeling left out.

"What should we do...Erza?" Lucy asked, looking at the red head.

"I don't know...should we follow them?" She suggested, not knowing what to do in this situation, since this was something now even she knew about.

"Why?" Gray asked.

"Be quiet!" They both yelled at him again, causing him to grumble something about 'women' behind them.

"Oooh! You mean like a stakeout! I wanna try!" Happy exclaimed in excitement.

"N-No...stakeout is different...I think the word is stalking..." Gray corrected him.

"It's neither of those!" The Celestial Spirit Mage sweat dropped. "Well?" She asked Erza.

The scarlet knight thought about it and was having a difficult time deciding whether they should pursue the two or not. Normally, she wouldn't care, but lately, there was this nagging feeling that she recently was experiencing whenever she was around the pink haired dragon slayer that told her to follow them. She then made a decision. "Let's follow them." Lucy nodded her head and the two female members of Team Natsu took off.

"Ah! Hold up!" Gray and Happy shouted as they ran after them.

* * *

><p>"No matter how much I look at it, they just look like they are shopping supplies for the Guild." Gray told the two girls, who were hiding behind a stack of boxes.<p>

"Aye..." Happy agreed nodding his head.

"Yeah...I guess we were worried for nothing." Lucy chuckled in embarrassment.

"What were you worried about anyway?"

"H-Huh? Oh...nothing Gray." Erza didn't say anything and only continued to watch Natsu carry boxes of things that he and Mirajane brought.

"Thank you so much for helping me Natsu." Mirajane thanked the ink haired dragon slayer as he moved the boxes away to grin at her.

"No problem, Mira-chan!" The former demon of Fairy Tail smiled, feeling really cheerful especially with everything that had happened to the Guild. She kind of felt guilty for feeling this way, but she just couldn't help it. She thought about it, but she found herself feeling so much more cheerful than before. She wondered whether it had something to do with being with Natsu. She didn't notice at first, but he changed. Whether this change made her feel different toward the dragon slayer had yet to be determined, but she was enjoying herself more than usual.

Natsu on the other hand, had something else on his mind. 'Hm, red hair? Red hair? Why is that I feel like I know someone with red hair? Damn...this is making my head hurt.' He sighed. 'Oh well...there is no point in stressing about it. The more important thing is to make sure Levy, Jet and Droy don't get hurt. I won't let Phantom hurt my friends.'

"Natsu..." The pink haired boy was snapped from his thoughts at the sound of the angelic voice that belonged to Mirajane.

"Huh? What's up?" He asked, moving the boxes to the side to look at her.

"How about we take a break?" She asked and then pointed toward a cafe.

"Oh...sure!" Natsu grinned. Both he and Mirajane walked into the cafe and out of view from their four followers.

"A C-C-Cafe!" Lucy panicked as she and the others got a closer look at the place they entered.

"Calm down, Lucy...I'm sure they are just taking a break." Erza told her, putting a hand on the blond's shoulder.

"Why does it matter?"

"It does!" Gray flinched at the deathly glare Erza was giving him.

"Erza is scary!" Happy hid behind the ice mage in horror.

"What do we do, Erza?"

"Hmm..." The scarlet knight thought about the options they had. "Let's go take a look." Lucy nodded her head and both woman rushed over to the Cafe and looked inside through the window. They ducked under the window and then raised their heads up to look for the pair. Gray sighed and watched from afar, not really caring what they were doing, but he found it weird that the two of them would act so weird, especially when it's about Natsu of all people.

"What would you like, Natsu?" Mirajane asked with a smile.

"Huh? I can have anything!" He exclaimed in excitement.

"Of course!" Mirajane giggled. She loved it when he got so excited about something as simple as this. "Think of it as a reward for helping me."

"Arigatou Mira-chan!" He exclaimed with a childish expression on his face and looked at the menu that were handed to them by the waitress. Mirajane giggled again before looking down at her menu as well.

"Those two...look like they are on a...umm...what do they call it again?" Happy spoke as he tried to remember the word. He was then met with two cold death stares from the two female Fairy Tail mages that were spying on Natsu and Mirajane. "Waah! Scary!" He shouted and flew toward Gray.

"Huh? Did you hear something?" Natsu suddenly asked and looked out the window. Lucy and Erza both saw him turn his head toward the window and quickly ducked down to avoid being seen.

"Hear what?" Mirajane asked.

"Nothing...must be hearing things..." He answered and looked back down at the menu. 'Weird...it sounded like Happy's voice...nah...I doubt it...now...what should I get?'

"Stupid cat..." Lucy cursed under her breath and both women raised their heads to continue spying on the pair.

When the waitress came back, she took their orders and then left, leaving the two alone. The two stayed silent and Natsu looked around the store. It was his first time ever coming to a place like this and couldn't help but look at the many colorful figurines they had. Mirajane on the other hand couldn't keep her eyes off the Dragon Slayer across from her. She found it cute and adorable how amazed he looked when he spotted something he never seen before. It was kind of like watching a young child, but Mirajane knew he wasn't one. Granted he did stuff that was childish, but she liked that about him.

She thought back to the conversation she had with him about Lisanna. Ever since that day she died, she hid the fact from everyone that she blamed herself for her death. If only she didn't take her siblings with her and went alone to take care of the monster. However, after what happened, she knew she couldn't stand a chance against the monster. She wasn't strong and because of that her little sister lost her life. She knew Elfman blamed himself for it, but it wasn't his fault. He was trying to protect her from the monster, but lost control of his magic and gone berserk. If she was stronger, then she could have stopped Elfman.

She then remembered something that happened before the incident. Before she and her younger siblings left for their S Class Job request, they met up with Natsu and Happy who were talking to Lisanna about a recent fight that they had. Mirajane remembered teasing Natsu that he should come with them so that he could learn a thing or two about being an S Class wizard. Back then, she loved teasing him and found him cute whenever he pouted or something close to that. Looking at him now, he kind of looked the same, but the aura around him was different. She wondered if she should have let Natsu join them in the job. Maybe, he could stopped Elfman from losing control and then Lisanna would have been with them.

She knew Lisanna had a crush on Natsu and maybe, just maybe it was more than that. She didn't mind their relationship, although giving her personality back then, she probably wouldn't have liked seeing them together like a couple. It was at that point that she felt strange. She felt her chest hurt slightly at the thought of her younger sister and Natsu as a couple. 'What is this feeling? It's weird...' She knew that Lisanna and Natsu can never be a couple because of her death, but why was it that it bothered her so much. It was all too confusing for her. When she looked at Natsu, who was still looking around the place, she suddenly felt the pain in her chest lighten up a bit. "Weird..." Natsu heard Mirajane say something and looked at her. He noticed that she was staring at him, but she didn't notice that he was staring back at her. He assumed she was thinking deeply about something.

"Mira-chan..." He called out to her. She didn't respond. He frowned slightly and tried again, but it didn't work. He sighed and lifted himself off his seat and leaned over the table to place a hand on her shoulder. "Mira-chan..." At the touch of his warm hand on her shoulder, Mirajane snapped from her thoughts and looked at Natsu. She blushed slightly at how close his face was to her own and couldn't help it if her voice was slightly shaking.

"W-What is it, N-Natsu?"

"You okay? You were spacing out just now?"

"H-Huh? Oh, I'm fine! I was just thinking about something." She replied while trying to avoid eye contact with him.

"I see..." He said and then lifted his hand off her shoulder. Mirajane frowned at the loss of his warmth on her shoulder and watched him sit back down in his seat. "Care to share?" She made a noise in surprise at his question. She wasn't expecting Natsu to ask her that because he was never one to ask such a question in the first place.

"W-Well...I..." Should she lie to him? She thought about it, but she decided not to because she knew he would know if she was lying and he possibly could be the only person she could talk to about this subject, him and Elfman of course. "I was just thinking about Lisanna again." Natsu stayed silent and allowed her to continue. "I know you told me to stop blaming myself for what happened and I don't...but I was just wondering if things would be different if you came along with us..."

'I get where this is going...' The pink haired Dragon Slayer sighed and ruffled his hair a bit. "Listen, Mira-chan...whether me going with you guys that day would have changed anything is uncertain...that past is the past...we can't change it..." He chuckled mentally at his words. 'I'm saying that, but I'm already doing it.' He looked at her and saw that her frowned deepened. There was one thing he hated seeing and that was seeing the sad expression on Mirajane's face. He especially hated it when his words were the reason why she was making such a sad face. "...but I'm pretty sure that she wouldn't want you to feel so sad..." At his words, Mirajane looked up at Natsu with wide eyes. "I told you before didn't I...no one should blame themselves for her death...not me, Elfman and especially you...I know that Lisanna would not want us to do so...she is just like that..." He smiled.

Mirajane felt tears threaten to fall, but did her best to hold them back. She knew that the person in front of her was right. Her younger sister would not want her to feel so sad. Nor would she want her to blame herself for her death. Natsu was right and she couldn't help but smile back at him. This time she felt a different feeling. This one felt warm and fuzzy. It only got better the longer she looked at Natsu. She didn't know what this feeling was exactly, but she had a good guess. There was still one thing that was nagging her in the back of her mind. "Ne, Natsu...how do you feel about Lisanna?"

Natsu made a noise in surprise at her question. Never would he have expected her to ask such a question. He looked down to the table and started to think about the answer to her question. At this moment in time, Lisanna was thought to be dead, but her older sister didn't know nor did anyone else. He was stifled on how to answer. What were his feelings toward Lisanna? Not even he was sure. Yes, he felt different when he was around her compared to the others. However, it wasn't the same after she came back. He wasn't sure why? He really didn't know how to answer this question. "I-I...I don't know..." He answered truthfully.

Mirajane knew he wasn't going to answer her question with a straight face, but she really wasn't expecting him to answer with an 'I don't know'. She really thought he would look real nervous and start to babble. However, she felt kind of relieved with the way he answered. Why was that? She couldn't understand it. Why did she feel relieved?

"Sorry for the wait! Here you go!" The waitress from before walked over to the table and placed the pair's order on the their table.

"W-What is that?" Lucy's eyes widened in shock at one of the items that were placed on the table. Erza was as shocked as her friend was as both of them had a faint blush on their cheeks.

Mirajane was as shocked as Lucy and Erza were. 'I-I didn't order this...' She thought and felt herself get really nervous. She looked up to her fellow Guild member and he was surprised to, but it was more of a confused surprise, that what she was experiencing.

"Huh? Why are there two straws in the milkshake?" He asked with no idea of what the milkshake meant. He suddenly felt a strange aura around him and noticed that many of the customers had looks of envy and jealousy that were directed at him. He ignored them, but he would be lying if he said that the stares didn't bother him.

"I-I don't know..." Was really the only answer Mirajane could give. She would have never expected something like this to happen. She looked back at Natsu and felt her face get warm again as he continued to stare at the milkshake like he was trying to figure it out.

'Hmm...why would they put two straws in a milkshake...is it something that they always do here? But it wouldn't make any sense if there is only one person at the table...maybe it's for both me and Mira-chan so that we could share the shake...ah that must be it!' Natsu pounded his fist onto the palm of his other hand.

'Don't tell me he got it!' Mirajane slightly panicked.

"Does Natsu understand the meaning behind that?" Lucy and Erza both said after they saw his motions.

"W-What do we do?" Lucy asked her fellow spy.

"I don't know...should we do something?"

"I don't know...but a voice in my head is telling me that we should..."

"But it's not like we can just barge in there...it's not ethical..." Erza said, but her mind was telling her to screw ethics.

"What are you two getting so worked up about?" Gray asked as he walked toward them after seeing how they were acting. At the sound of his voice, both girls turned their heads to give him a mischievous look. "Huh?"

"Natsu..." Mirajane spoke softly, wondering if he realized the true meaning behind the two straw in the milkshake.

"Of course...it's..."

"YOU ASSHOLE!" Everyone in the cafe turned their heads to see a very pissed off Gray, glaring daggers at Natsu.

"G-Gray?" Mirajane was surprised to see the ice mage.

"Huh?" Natsu asked.

"How dare you tell people that I use my magic to create ice girls and then jerk off from them?" Gray shouted and both Natsu and Mirajane looked at him like he was crazy.

"W-What? I never said such thing!" He retaliated. "Although...it does sound like something you would do..." He made a side comment loud enough for his rival to hear.

"I'm going to kill you, you son of a bitch!" Gray roared and tackled Natsu to the ground. The chaos ensued as everyone in the cafe ran to save themselves as the two brawled all over the place.

"Stop it you two!" Mirajane pleaded with both of them, but no matter how much pleading she tried, the two were not stopping their brawl. It was then that she heard chuckling behind her and turned her head to see very familiar blue, blond and red hair. She narrowed her eyes and walked over to them. "W-What are you three doing here?" The three jumped in surprise at her voice.

"Aah! Mira-san! I didn't know you were here? What a coincidence." Lucy chuckled.

"Mira! Please don't hurt me! It was all there fault!" Happy cried, flying toward her and hugging her.

"Lying cat!" Lucy screamed at Happy.

"What's going on?" Mirajane asked again.

"We were searching for Natsu because Gray was threatening to kill him after what he told people about him and I came to stop them." Erza told her.

"Oh? So...why aren't you stopping them?" The former demon of Fairy Tail narrowed her eyes at her former rival. Erza started to sweat slightly at her words. Instantly, she started marching toward the two.

"Stop it you idiots!" She shouted and Mirajane sighed.

"Hehe..." Lucy chuckled as Erza was able to knock out both Gray and Natsu before dragging them out of the destroyed cafe. The six of them bowed their heads in apology to the owner of the cafe before heading back to the Guild, everyone except for Mirajane carrying one of the supplies she brought as punishment. The white haired beauty was ahead of the others and couldn't help but smile. Despite the Guild getting destroyed by Phantom, she felt happy. She felt more happier recently then she had in a long time. She didn't know why, but she knew it had something to do with Natsu returning to the Guild. She giggled. She was really glad that Natsu came back.

* * *

><p>"What the hell was up with Gray?" Natsu grumbled as he walked next to Lucy and Happy.<p>

"I-I don't know...he's a weirdo..." Lucy chuckled nervously.

"Aye!" Happy nodded his head.

"Coming out of nowhere and accusing me like that..." He continued.

"Come on now...what's done is done...who knows where he heard such a thing from..."

"Maybe one of his friends told him that to get mad at you!" Happy grinned as Lucy sent him a death glare.

"I don't know why they would do that, but oh well." He said and the Celestial Spirit Mage sighed in relief that he decided to just forget about what happened. "So, what do you wanna do?"

"Huh?"

"We got time before it gets dark, so why not do something, just the three of us!" He grinned.

'I wish it was just the two of us...' Lucy thought and glared at Happy.

"Why are you glaring at me like that Lucy?"

"No reason. So, what should we do?"

"I asked you, so you decide."

"Hm?"

"How about fishing?" Happy offered excitedly.

"I'm not really in a fishing type mood."

"Stingy Lucy."

Natsu could only chuckle at his two friends behind him. He looked back forward and put his hands behind his head and waited for them to decide. He knew that this was a tough time for the Guild and everyone else, but that didn't mean none of them could have fun. He did though, have to make sure Levy, Jet and Droy didn't get hurt by Gajeel. He didn't come back from the future just to repeat things again. No, he realized that this time, he has the chance to change the future. Screw Zeref and everything he said, except for the he was from the future part of course. He was going to change the future and this time make sure he will save and protect his friends.

"I got it!" Lucy suddenly exclaimed in joy.

"Hm? What?" He asked turning his head around.

"We can go there!" Both Natsu and Happy turned their heads to see a library.

"Huh?" Both of them questioned.

"What? You don't want to go?"

"It's not exactly..." He told her, scratching his cheek.

"We just never been there in a place like that before." Happy finished for his best friend.

"Eh? Really?" Lucy asked in disbelief, but she was surprised that she found it so surprising.

"Well...I guess there is a first time for everything..." Natsu told her and she grinned happily.

"Hooray! Let's go!" She quickly grabbed onto his arm and started dragging him toward the library, with Happy trying to catch up to them.

"So many books..." Happy looked around in awe. Natsu only looked around, feeling sort of bored. When he saw how happy Lucy was, he decided to enjoy himself too and picked up a book from one of the shelves. He opened it and saw nothing but words on each page.

'My head kind of hurts...' He sweat dropped and closed the book. He placed it back and picked out another one. Hopefully, this one had some pictures in it. 'Damn...' He cursed as he saw nothing but more words. He sighed once more and put the book back. He looked over at his blond haired friend and saw the large smile she had on her face as her eyes skimmed through the book. He decided to suck it up and look around for a book that looked interesting. He heard Happy say something about a fish book behind him, but ignored it when he saw a book that looked really old. 'Hmm...what this?' He wondered and took the book out of the shelf and opened it. 'Wow...this book is really old...it kind of smells...' He thought and started flipping through the book. 'Wait a minute...this is...' Natsu's eyes widened.

"Oh? Did you find something?" Lucy suddenly asked as Natsu quickly shut the book.

"No...it was nothing..." He chuckled and put the book back on the shelf.

"Really? Too bad...it looked like you were really into it..."

He didn't say anything and walked over to Happy to see what he was looking so excited about. Lucy frowned at him and walked over to the shelf to see the book he was looking at. She saw it and wondered what made an old book like that so interesting for the Dragon slayer She decided not to investigate it any further, or at least not now with him around. So, she walked past the book and toward the two. "See Natsu! This book has all different kinds of fish!" Happy was telling his best friend.

"You really like fish." Both of them turned their heads up at the female member of their small party.

"Of course! Fish is the greatest food ever!"

"That's your opinion..."

"Your wrong Lucy! It is the best!"

"Yeah, yeah..." Lucy sweat dropped. "Well, I already picked out the books I wanted so I'm going to go buy them. I'll see you guys at the exit." She told them and they nodded.

"Alright!" With that, Lucy turned around and walked over to the line at the cashier.

"Can we get this book, Natsu?"

"With what money?" He asked the blue cat.

"Oh that's right..." He pouted sadly.

"Tell you what...I'll get you more fish than this book has combined!"

"Eh? Really? Thank you, Natsu!"

"No problem buddy!" He grinned and watched Happy run over to Lucy to tell her the good news. He smiled at his friend and then started walking over to them, but stopped in front of the book. He looked at it and then back at the two to make sure they weren't looking. He took the book out and flipped to the page he was looking at before closing it. 'What the hell...?' Natsu thought as he stared at the page. 'Why is he in this book?'

He shut the book and put it back on the shelf. He then walked over to the others. "Yosh! I can't wait to read this novel tonight!" Lucy exclaimed in happiness as she pressed the book closer to her.

"You look so happy! Good!" The blond hair novelist made a noise in surprise at Natsu's comment.

"Eh?"

"Well, with everything that happened lately, you looked kind of sad! I'm glad you look happy now!" He grinned widely, causing Lucy to blush.

"T-Thank you...Natsu..." She said and he chuckled.

The three of them then left the library. One of them whistling like he had no care in the world, one drooling over the large amount of fish one was planning on giving him, and another who was smiling at another's back with a light blush on her face.

* * *

><p>"What a day!" Lucy sighed as she walked along the stream with Plue. "First we come back form our job and then we find out that our Guild was attacked by Phantom. Then me and Erza spied on Natsu and Mira, although I don't know why I felt glad when we stopped them before they drank that milkshake..." She blushed. 'Why is it that I wish it was me and Natsu in that situation...?'<p>

"Puuu!" Plue shouted after she stopped talking.

"Oh, sorry Plue! Where was I...Oh yeah! Then me, Natsu and Happy hung out in the library! I was able to get this awesome book that I can't wait to read once I get home, after a nice bath of course!" She giggled at the thought of the nice warm bath that awaited her once she got home. She then thought back to that book that Natsu was so interested in. She found it completely strange to see Natsu be interested in a book as much as he was. Whatever this book was must have had something interesting written in it. She had to check out that book. "Here we are!"

"Puuu!" Plue jumped up in joy as they arrived in front of Lucy's apartment.

"I can't wait to get started on-WHAT ARE YOU THREE DOING HERE?" Lucy shouted as she saw Gray, Erza and Happy all greeting her in her apartment.

"Welcome home!" Gray grinned.

"You have a very nice place here, Lucy." Erza complimented her.

"Welcome!" Happy shouted as well.

"What are all you doing here?" Lucy yelled at them again.

"Calm down, Lucy." The scarlet knight told her. "Since Phantom attacked our Guild there is a possibility that some of the members are still in town."

"EEHHH?"

"I don't think it will happen but Mira recommend for us to stay as a group so that we won't get attacked by Phantom." Gray explained to her.

"I see...huh?" Lucy realized that there was one member of their group missing. "Where's Natsu?"

"He said that he had something to do and told me to go on ahead and he'll meet up with us when he's done." Happy told her.

'Something to do...could it be about that book?'

"That idiot! We should have dragged him here." Gray said.

"He said he would meet us here, so let's trust him. Natsu can handle himself." Erza told him. "Besides, I'm worried that if he was here, you and him would try and destroy Lucy's nice apartment."

"What? How could you?" Lucy screamed.

"I didn't even do anything yet!"

"Ah! So you were planning on fighting Natsu in my apartment!"

"No I wasn't!"

"Lucy! Do you have any fish?"

"No!"

"Aww...how about you, Plue?"

"Puuu!"

"Oooh! Is that candy? Give me some Plue!"

"Puuu!"

"Those two are already hitting it off..." Lucy sweat dropped as both started sucking on their lollipops.

"Well, I'm tired..." Gray muttered and hopped onto Lucy's bed.

"Get off my bed, you pervert!" Lucy yelled at him.

"Gray! I won't sleep with anyone who doesn't take care of their own body odor! Go take a bath!" She ordered the ice mage.

"Eeh? But I just got in-"

"NOW!"

"Yes Ma'am!" With that Gray rushed to the bathroom and turned on the water to avoid Erza's wrath.

"Erza's scary..." Lucy shook in fear at her rage. Erza sighed and walked toward the window to stare up at the night sky. "What is it, Erza?"

"Nothing..." She replied, but her frown grew deeper. 'Natsu...where are you?'

* * *

><p>"Are you sure you don't want to be with the other girls at Fairy Hills, Levy?" Jet asked his fellow teammate and crush.<p>

"Yeah, we would understand if you wanted to stay with them." Droy agreed as well.

"Don't be silly! I would never want to break up our team like that! I'm sure you two are capable enough to protect me!" Levy told them with a cheerful smile.

"Levy!" Both her teammates cried tears of joy at the words their crush told them.

Meanwhile, a dark figure opened his eyes at the sound of the three voices. He looked down to see Jet, Droy and Levy walking down the road below him. He then smirked and jumped down. He snickered silently and then charged at the three. All three of them turned their bodies around at the feeling of presence behind them and gasped at the dark figure coming toward them. However, as the dark figure raised his arm to grab Levy, Natsu appeared and grabbed his wrist, stopping the figure.

"Natsu!" Levy shouted in surprise as she fell to the ground.

"Are you three alright?" Natsu asked and they nodded their heads.

"H-Hai..." Levy replied with a faint blush on her cheeks.

"That's a relief..." The dragon slayer sighed in relief.

"Well,well...if it isn't the Salamander..." The figure chuckled.

"Gajeel!" Natsu growled in response. "The Iron Dragon slayer"

"Oh...so you know about me..." Gajeel chuckled. "Too bad that won't do you any good."

"We'll see about that..." Natsu smirked. Gajeel smirked widened as he transformed his other arm into a large steel club and attacked Natsu, but he used his free hand to stop the attack.

"Impressive." He smirked and then jumped back to leave some distance between him and his opponent.

"Levy, Jet, Droy...get back." Natsu warned them.

"O-Okay..." Levy nodded and the three of them back away to a safe distance.

"Gajeel! I won't let you harm my friends! Get out of here!" Natsu tried, but he knew it wasn't going to be of any use.

"Hahahaha! You think I'm that much of a coward! You disappoint me, Salamander! I never thought you of all people would underestimate me! That is you fatal flaw!" He laughed and then suddenly disappeared.

'Eh? Where did he-' Before he could even finish his thought, his eyes widened when he sensed Gajeel behind him. Natsu quickly jumped forward and did a hand stand to get away from him as Gajeel swung at the air. 'He's fast...way too fast...something's wrong...'

"Your nothing but a coward Salamander!" Gajeel used his insane speed again and this time appeared in front of Natsu, who didn't have time to move and was then struck by his fist to his stomach.

"Gah!" The iron dragon slayer smirked and then grabbed Natsu's head and then slammed him down to the ground.

"Natsu!" The three shouted with their eyes widened in shock.

"Hahahaha! Had enough..." Suddenly, his opponent's body started to heat up. Gajeel quickly jumped away from him and watched as he raised himself up and glare at him. "That's a scary face you got there...almost like a demons...hahahaha!"

'Something is not right here...' Natsu thought. 'I don't know what's going on, but Gajeel is a lot stronger than I remember him being...could it be...that man...what the hell did he do?' He decided to not think about it too much and stood up. He continued to glare at the iron dragon slayer and clenched his fists. 'Damn...if he's this strong then I can't have Levy and the others around...' With that, Natsu charged at his opponent.

"Oh...you're now going on the offense...I guess you aren't a coward...hehehe!" He got into his fighting stance and waited for Natsu to attack him. "Come on then!"

"Gajeel!" Natsu shouted and punched him only to let it be blocked by Gajeel's hand.

"Too slow..." Natsu's eyes widened as he felt Gajeel's steel club attack hit him in the stomach. He then let go of his fist and transformed his other hand into another steel club and slammed it down on his head and smashing him down to the ground. Natsu spat out blood as he felt his head connect with the hard rock ground. He then felt Gajeel stomp his foot against his head.

'Damn it...he's fast and his attacks are way too strong than I remember...what the hell happened to him?' Natsu wondered in shock as he felt Gajeel's foot press itself further into his head.

"Natsu!" He heard Levy call his name and turned his head slightly to look at his friends.

'Damn it...he's too strong...I was not expecting this...I can't believe this...damn it...' He heard his friends calling him again. He could hear the worry in their voices and it only made Gajeel press his food harder against his head. Natsu gritted his teeth in anger. He had to protect them. "Levy! Jet! Droy!" He shouted as loud as he could. "Get away from here!" He could hear them gasping at his words.

"We can't just leave you!" Jet shouted back.

"Yeah! We won't do that!" Droy agreed.

"They're right Natsu! We won't leave you behind!" Levy cried.

"It's going to be alright!" He yelled back. "Just go! I'll be right behind you!"

"But..."

"JUST GO!" He yelled as hard as he could. Levy and the others clenched their fists as hard as they could. They were shocked to hear their fellow comrade yell at them like he did. They could hear the plead in his voice and they looked at each other. Jet, Droy and Levy nodded their heads.

"Alright! But you better be right behind us!" Jet shouted.

"You got it!" Natsu shouted back.

"Let's go!" Droy told them. He and Jet turned around and ran, while Levy looked at Natsu with a frown and watery eyes.

"Please be okay Natsu!" She shouted and then followed her teammates.

"Aren't you the hero! You know I can just go after them after I deal with you." Gajeel told him.

"Like hell I'll let that happen!" Natsu slammed his hands down on the ground and then started to push himself up.

"Oh? Resilient bastard, aren't you..." Gajeel smirked and then lifted his foot off of him and tried to kick him in the head, but Natsu grabbed his foot before it reached his face. He then let go of one of his hands and tried to punch Gajeel in the stomach, but when he connected with his abdomen, Natsu felt like he just hit a wall made of the strongest material in the world.

'Shit...it hurts...what the hell?'

"Hehehe, surprised aren't you..." Gajeel smirked and then kneed him in the gut.

"Gah!" Natsu spat out some blood and then felt his back get hit by another attack from his steel club. 'He's so much stronger than before...this is ridiculous!' He then felt him grab his hair and lift Natsu up so that he could see eye to eye with him.

"I heard you were supposed to be strong, Salamander...but I guess those were rumors...hehehe!"

'Damn this...maybe I should...no! I won't use Dragon Metamorphosis...he's one of my nakama...or will be...he was one of them...one of the nakama I couldn't save from Zeref...but why is he so much stronger!'

"Well then...I guess I could finish you off now..." He smirked and punched Natsu in the stomach repeatedly.

'Damn it...why can't I move my arms...something's wrong...' Natsu thought as he felt his the punches hurt more and more.

"It's time to end your life, Salamander!" Gajeel laughed and transformed his arm into a steel club to deliver this finishing blow.

'Damn this...my vision is getting blurry...there is no way I'm dying here! I still have to...'

"That's enough, Gajeel!" The iron dragon slayer stopped when he heard his name being called and looked behind him to see the same man who made him more powerful.

"What are you doing here? I thought you said to let me handle this!"

"I did, but I didn't think he would show up to be the hero." The man smirked. "I finally found you, Natsu Dragneel."

'Who is that?' Natsu wondered as he couldn't see anything because of his blurry vision.

"Huh? You were looking for him? What's so special about this weakling?"

"You don't need to know that...let him go...or else..." The man glared at Gajeel and he instantly dropped Natsu to the ground. Natsu fell with a thud and tried his best to move his arms and head to get a closer look at the man who appeared so suddenly.

'I can't see him! Damn it! Who is he? Is he the guy who made Gajeel this strong?' He heard footsteps get closer to him and turned his head to see two feet. 'Damn it! Who the hell are you?'

"To think you would be defeated so easily...but then again...I can see why..."

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Gajeel asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It doesn't matter anymore...Gajeel picked him up to his knees." He ordered and the iron dragon slayer did as he was told, shrugging off his previous question. Gajeel grabbed Natsu's pink hair and lifted him up so that his chest was revealed to the man in front of him.

"Like this?" The member of Phantom asked.

"Yes...that is fine." The man replied. He then reached his arms toward the side and two swords appeared in his hands.

"What are you doing?" Gajeel asked.

"When I tell you, get out of the way..." The man told him. Gajeel didn't say anything and only nodded.

'W-What is he doing?' Natsu wondered, not being able to see with his blurry vision.

"Do you want to know why...you felt extremely weak...and why Gajeel was so strong?" The man asked Natsu. "It's because you entered my territory...in it I can make anyone I want either get a power boost or get weaker...of course you should already know by now who got which end of the deal...now then...why don't you lay down for a while...I don't want you interrupting my plans...Natsu Dragneel." The man chuckled and clenched his swords tightly. "Now, Gajeel!" The iron dragon slayer jumped out of the way and before he knew it, the man swung his swords, creating a huge 'X' mark cut across Natsu's chest. Blood splattered everywhere as Natsu lost consciousness and then fell face first to the ground.

"Is he dead?" Gajeel asked as he stood next to the man.

"No...something like this won't kill him...after all...he's that man's student."

"Huh?"

"It doesn't matter...let's head back. We'll discuss the next part of our plan."

"Right." With that, the two disappeared, leaving an unconscious Natsu in a pool of his own blood. Natsu's eye's looked like they were lifeless as he stayed motionless on the ground in the middle of the road. Suddenly, footsteps were heard. The footsteps stopped in front of Natsu and the man standing above him looked down and then took a gulp from his bottle.

"Good grief...you think you of all people would not get yourself beat up like this...it's kind of makes me look like an idiot...but...you did keep me entertained...you know...if you didn't have those chains...maybe you could beat them...hmph...idiot..." The man chuckled a bit and then lifted his finger. The tip of his finger began to glow and then a small ball of light moved downward to Natsu's body and entered his head. "I wouldn't die just yet...Natsu...it's too early for you..." He took another gulp before walking away. "Oh...I almost forgot...leaving you lying around like this wouldn't be polite of me would it..." The man grinned.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure about this, Levy?" Erza shouted as she grabbed a hold of Levy's shoulders.<p>

"Yeah...one of Phantom's men was going to attack us but Natsu stopped him...when we left Natsu was losing..." Levy explained, feeling tears coming to her eyes.

'That can't be...Natsu losing...it's not possible!' Erza frowned and felt worry enter her body.

"That idiot...what the hell was he thinking?" Gray growled in anger.

"What should we do?" Jet asked.

"Take us to him! If they're still fighting, then we can lend a hand!" Erza told them and everyone nodded. "Let's go!"

When Levy, Jet and Droy led them to the spot where Natsu was fighting, there was no sign of Natsu anywhere. Not even the pool of blood that he laid in disappeared. However, the cracks on the ground proved that there was a fight here. Everyone started searching for him. They asked some of the other members to help them and the search for Natsu began. By the time someone found him...the sun was rising in the horizon.

"Where could he be?" Mirajane asked worryingly as she and Elfman searched for the missing Dragon slayer

"I can't believe something like this happened though..." Elfman replied.

"Let's not worry about that for now! We have to find Natsu first."

"Hai, Nee-chan!" The two ran and searched every street corner for the missing member of Fairy Tail. "Hey Nee-chan...over there!" Elfman shouted and pointed in the direction of the large tree located in South Gate Park. Mirajane looked in the direction he pointed toward and saw what he saw. A figure leaning against the trunk of the tree.

"You don't think..." Mirajane asked in fear as she looked at her younger brother.

"Only one way to find out!" He told her and they nodded before running toward the tree. The closer they got, the worse the feeling Mirajane had was getting. When she got close enough to see who the figure was, her heart felt like it was suddenly crushed. Elfman's eyes widened in shock. "N-No way..."

Mirajane felt tears start to fall down her eyes as she stared at Natsu's motionless body as it leaned against the trunk of the tree. The blood that came from the two slashes were still visible all over his chest. To them it looked like he was dead, but that was something Mirajane did now want to believe. She did not want to believe that another of her comrades was dead. Not again. She lowered her head and then whispered to Elfman. "G-Go tell the others t-that we f-found him..." Elfman looked at his older sister and nodded before running to tell the others. She slowly walked forward and felt her knees get weaker and weaker the closer she got to him. She then dropped to her knees and looked at Natsu. The tears she felt were now falling down like waterfalls. She couldn't stop them. "Natsu!" She cried and grabbed the boy's head, pulling him into a hug. She didn't care if her clothes were stained with his blood. She cried and cried.

Not before long, the others arrived too and their eyes all widened in total shock. Many of them cried at the sight of Natsu. Some were in shock, their eyes widened and speechless. Soon, the townsfolk started to gather around them to see what happened and gasps were heard throughout. Makarov started walking toward the unconscious Natsu and crying Mirajane. The members of Fairy Tail all waited patiently to hear what their Master had to say.

When he stopped in front of Natsu and Mirajane, he clenched his fists tightly on his staff. He gritted his teeth in anger. "I can forgive somebody if they attacked the Guild building..." He began and everyone could hear the anger in his voice. "...but I won't forgive anybody who hurts my children! YOU HAVE GONE TOO FAR PHANTOM! THIS IS WAR!"

**To Be Continued...**

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong> Dun Dun Duuuun! Holy shit! Not expecting that were you! I hope you guys like this plot twist. Some of you might be shocked about Natsu's defeat, but since the only way Makarov would send Fairy Tail to fight against Phantom and to have Natsu save Levy, Jet and Droy, this was the only option. Well, I hope you like it! By the way...I know I'm an asshole! I apologize for that! Oh and STOP SOPA AND PIPA! FREEDOM ON THE INTERNET!


	15. Natsu's Fight Within

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related which includes the characters of Fairy Tail.

**Rated M! You have been warned!**

**Not yet Edited! Will be soon!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 15: Natsu's Fight Within<strong>

Mirajane slowly dipped the towel in her hands into a bucket of cool water and then twisted the towel to remove the liquid that was stored in it. Once she got rid of the water, she neatly folded it into a rectangle and then placed it on top of Natsu's forehead.

After finding the Dragon Slayer under the large tree in the South Gate Park, Makarov and the other Fairy Tail members stormed toward Phantom's guild, each wanting to get revenge on them for what they did to their Guild building and especially for what they did to their pink colored haired comrade. The only ones who didn't go were herself, Lucy and Levy. Even Happy went which showed how much the blue cat wanted to get revenge for his best friend in the whole world.

"Natsu..." Lucy whispered as she stared down at her teammate with a sad expression. She never saw him like this. He looked so weak and defenseless, something she knew Natsu never was. It was a shock to her when she saw him for the first time. She couldn't help but cry for her teammate. It was just horrifying for her to see him in such a state. She thought Natsu would never be defeated by anyone. She would have never predicted seeing Natsu turn up in such a state like he was in now. She saw the blood that was all over his chest and she was afraid that he could have been dead. Thankfully, he wasn't dead. He still had a heartbeat, it was faint, but it was there.

When Makarov and the others left, Elfman carried Natsu to the hospital with her, Levy and Mirajane following right behind him. After he was able to get him to the hospital, he ran out to catch up to the others. It was now just the three of them. She looked at Levy next to her and saw that she was shaking. She wondered what exactly went through her mind.

"It's all my fault..." Both woman looked at Levy. "If it wasn't for me...Natsu...he...he wouldn't have..." She started to cry again as her tears fell down to her lap, her body continuing to shake.

"Levy-chan...it's not your fault..." Lucy tried to comfort her as she placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Lucy's right...don't blame yourself...I'm sure Natsu wouldn't want you to do so either..." Mirajane told her as well.

"But..."

"Mira-san is right, Levy-chan. You shouldn't blame yourself."

Levy clenched the end of her short pants. She knew they were comforting her, but she still felt like this was all her fault. She blamed herself for Natsu becoming like this. She could still remember the last time she saw him. He promised her that he would be right behind them. After running all the way to the main road, they waited for about ten minutes and he didn't come. This worried her tremendously. She wanted to go and see if he was okay, but Jet and Droy stopped her. They told her that it was too dangerous and she knew they were right, but she felt uneasy.

The three of them then decided to go find and tell Erza about what happened. She knew she would be staying at Lucys so they went immediately to her apartment. Then, the next time she saw Natsu, she saw him in his current condition. The sight of him and his unconscious, bloody state was heartbreaking for her. It was too much to see one of her comrades looking like he was a thread away from death. 'I'm sorry...Natsu...'

* * *

><p><em>Where...am I?<em>

_Why...is it so dark?_

_I can't see anything._

_Where is everybody?_

_Happy...Lucy...Gray...Erza...Old Man...where are you guys?_

_Natsu..._

_I hear someone..._

_Natsu..._

_Who is that?_

_Natsu..._

_Who are you? Where are you?_

_Light..._

_Light? What light?_

_The light in front of you...dumb ass..._

"_Huh?" Natsu opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was darkness. He felt something hot on his right side and turned his head to see a large fire. "Where am I?" _

"_You forgot already, huh?" Natsu's eyes widened at the familiar voice. He sat up and stared at the figure on the other side of the fire. He was speechless as he recognized the figure. _

"_You're..."_

"_No...I'm not him...I may look like him, but it's only because your memory created me..." The figure explained._

"_W-What? I don't...understand..." He replied in confusion._

"_Do you remember what happened?" _

"_What do you mean?"_

"_About you getting your ass kicked..." At his words, Natsu remembered. _

"_Oh yeah..."_

"_You know you could have won if you didn't have those chains on you..."_

"_No...you're wrong..."_

"_Am I? Or is it just that you are scared?"_

"_I'm not scared of anything!" _

"_Says the guy who got his ass kicked..." The figure chuckled._

"_Shut up!"_

"_Listen Natsu...I know that you're afraid of what would happen if you remove those chains...but you need to get over it..._

"_Shut up..." He said in a lower tone._

"_You really are an idiot...but...I like idiots like you..."_

"_Is that why you...?"_

"_Maybe...but...there is another reason why...don't bother asking..."_

"_Fine. So...where am I?"_

"_You're in your subconscious."_

"_My what?"_

_The figure sighed. "You are in your own mind."_

"_I'm in my head?"_

"_Sure...fine...whatever...anyway, take a look at the fire." Natsu did so._

"_Yeah...and?"_

"_Tell me what you see."_

"_Huh?"_

"_Just look into the fire and tell me what you see."_

_Natsu shrugged and stared deeply into the fire. At first, all he saw was the flames that flickered back and forth. Then suddenly, he saw something. Whatever it was, made Natsu back away in fear and sweat all over his body. "T-That's...w-what is t-that?"_

"_You should already know the answer to your own question...Natsu..."_

* * *

><p>"Daaaah! Those Fairy fools are all idiots!"<p>

"They definitely got their asses burned!"

"That's not all! I heard Gajeel took care of one of their strongest mages!"

"Hahaha! Those fairies are probably crying in their beds like babies!"

"Cheers to those pitiful fairies!"

"Ah shoot! I lost track of time!"

"Meeting a girl?"

"Yeah, not too shabby looking either, though she is a client. When I threatened her, she doubled the reward for me."

"Hahahaha! I bet I could have tripled it!"

"Yeah...whatever..."

Suddenly a huge explosion occurred as the Phantom Guild member was just about to leave. The force of the explosion charred the mage and sent him flying into one of the tables and then into some of his fellow guild members before stopping just in front of the bar.

"W-What the hell?" The smoke started to clear to reveal Erza in her Heaven's Wheel Armor, glaring at Phantom with Makarov and the other members of Fairy Tail doing the same right behind her. Then they shouted,

"WE ARE FAIRY TAIL!"

"WHAT?"

"YOU BASTARDS!"

The fight between both guilds broke out in a frenzy. Mages from Phantom were sent flying from one side of the guild to the other. Fairy Tail had the edge in strength against Phantom as numbers didn't seem to play as a factor in the fight. Gray used his ice make magic to freeze or attack his opponents, while Erza cut down her group of opponents. The other guild members used their own powers to deal with their opponents. Happy also joined in on the fight as he flew around the guild and smacking Phantom members across the face with a small wooden club.

"Let's get Master Makarov!" A group of Phantom members yelled and charged at the small master of Fairy Tail. Makarov was unfazed by their attack as his eyes shot out a bright light and he grew about ten times his size. The attackers all stopped and looked up at him in fear as he smacked his hand down and crushing them. Cracking sounds were heard as both the floor and the bones of the poor mages who were struck were blocked out by the surrounding fights.

"Y-You monster..." One of the mages underneath his hand spoke as he heard his bones cracking and snapping.

"You bastards brought the fight to the children of that monster! Don't even for a second think you'll be protected by human laws!" Makarov roared in furious anger as some of the still conscious mages crushed by his hand screamed in fear.

"S-Such strength!"

"Their soldiers ain't small fry, either!"

"They're insane!"

"Jose!" Makarov roared again as he shrunk back down to his regular size. "Show yourself!"

"Where is Gajeel?" Erza demanded an answer from one of her opponents. When he didn't reply quick enough, Erza cut him down and moved on to her next opponent and did the same with him.

"I don't see any members of the element four either." Cana said as well, looking around for them while fighting off an opponent.

"So...that's Erza the Titania..." Gajeel muttered as he looked down at the small battlefield from the rafters. "I don't see Gildarts, Laxus or Mystogan anywhere...hmph...they're underestimating us..."

"Don't worry about them..." The iron Dragonslayer turned his head to see the red haired man leaning against one of the wooden fixtures next to him. "Our main focus is to keep them busy...also...to get rid of two more annoying pests..."

"Hehehe...right..." He chuckled. "Let me ask you, are you using your territorial magic?"

"No...I want to see if any of the fools below have any use for me." He replied. "Although...from what I see...they're all useless."

"Yeah...to be honest with you, I thought they were pretty much that. They are nothing but fools that this guild uses to increase our numbers." Gajeel agreed, smirking.

"Right...oh that reminds me...that woman...Erza I think you called her...you know what I heard?"

"What?"

"Natsu defeated her."

"Huh? Seriously? You got to be kidding me! I thought she was stronger than him!"

"Don't underestimate her. Just because she lost doesn't mean she is a threat to you."

"Yeah, yeah...so when can I join in on the fun?"

"In a moment...wait until Makarov heads upstairs."

"Hehehehe, fine by me."

* * *

><p>"<em>What am I supposed to do?" Natsu asked the figure.<em>

"_The problem you have is that you are afraid of seeing people you care about hurt...that is why you refuse to remove those chains...you're too afraid that by releasing those chains, the power that you keep dormant inside you will be unleashed and without control, you will hurt the people you care about...so, here is what you will do...unleash those chains and attack me!"_

"_W-What...are you crazy!"_

"_Don't be a dumb ass! Do you really think you can rely on that technique with every single fight you get yourself involved in. I saw that fight you had with that other Dragonslayer! You tried to use that technique on him, but stopped. I don't know why and I don't really give a damn...however, using that technique should not be your only way of fighting...if you remove those chains then you won't have to worry about using that technique, and your friends will stop worrying about you killing yourself. Didn't I tell you before not to use that technique unless it's necessary?"_

"_But I had to!"_

"_Yeah, yeah I know about your fights with those two demons...word gets around quickly in this world you know. What's done is done, the only thing you should worry about now is the present and future! Now, unleash those chains and I'll help you control your power!"_

"_Damn it...fine then! But what happens if..."_

"_Don't worry...last time I was unprepared...this time...I won't be..."_

"_Fine!"_

* * *

><p>Lucy, Levy and Mirajane stayed silent most of the time. They haven't heard anything from the others, but weren't worried as much as they were with Natsu. They knew their friends could handle Phantom, especially when they had the Master with them. Lucy sighed before standing up. "I'm going to go to the store to get something to eat, do you two want anything?"<p>

"No, I'm fine." Mirajane told her with a smile.

"What about you Levy-chan?"

"No...I'm fine..." She whispered.

"Okay then..." Lucy said and turned around, ready to leave until a voice stopped her.

"D-Don't...go..." The three all gasped and looked at Natsu. When they saw him, he looked like he didn't say a word, but they were all sure that they heard his voice.

"Natsu...?" Lucy spoke first, hoping to get some type of reaction from their fallen comrade. There was none. "Was I just hearing things?"

"I-I'm not sure...but I heard him say something..." Levy told her.

"Yeah...me too..." Mirajane nodded her head.

"Could he have just been talking in his sleep?" Lucy said, frowning a bit.

"Maybe..." The former demon of Fairy Tail replied, frowning as well.

Fairy Tail's Celestial Spirit Mage sighed in slight disappointment before turning around heading toward the door. "I'll be right back." She said and left.

* * *

><p>"<em>Damn...looks like this is harder than I thought it would be." The man said as he dodged another large dragon roar attack directed at him. "Though, you still look like a piece of shit...just like last time..." He chuckled as he smirked at Natsu.<em>

"_Wraahhh!" Natsu roared as his entire body was engulfed in flames that had a small sparks of electricity surrounding him. His eyes were as white as an eggshell as he looked like he had no control over his body. He let out another roar and another dragon roar attack was launched at the figure._

_The man lifted his right arm to block the attack as a large magic circle appeared in front of him. Natsu's dragon roar was absorbed by the magic circle the man created. The Salamander growled at the man, who smirked back. "You have been one bad Dragonslayer...Natsu..." He chuckled and lowered his arm down. Natsu roared again. "Fight it...Natsu...I know it hurts, but you have to gain control over yourself! Don't fight against your strength...don't fight this power...embrace it! Use this power to do what you want!" He yelled over to him. He roared again. "Tch...you really are an idiot..."_

_Natsu let out another strong Dragon roar at him. He sighed and jumped up. He then ran at Natsu in full speed before punching him in the face. However, the punch only slightly moved his head to the side. "Grrr..." He growled in anger._

"_Looks like this won't be as easy as I thought..."_

* * *

><p>Lucy let out a loud sigh. She was tired. After everything that happened in the past 24 hours, she felt exhausted. However, she wasn't complaining because Natsu was in a much worse state than she was. Sure she was tired, but he was so close to dying. The thought of him dying felt uneasy for her. He was the person who brought her to Fairy Tail and if it wasn't for him, who knows where she would be now. Heck, she could have been living a life of slavery if it wasn't for Natsu saving her back when they first met. Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt rain drops start to fall and hit against her head.<p>

"Rain?" She asked as she looked up to the sky. "No way...rain even while the sun is out?" She exclaimed in shock as she saw nothing but a clear blue sky above her. "W-What's going on?"

"Steady and silently..." Lucy lowered her head to see a figure walking in the rain in front of her. "Yes...Juvia brings rain steadily and silently..."

"Huh?" Lucy questioned as she dropped the bag of food she brought to the ground and covered her head with her arms to prevent her hair from getting wet.

"What do you bring?"

"Erm...who are you?" Lucy asked confused. She watched as Juvia opened up her umbrella and then walked away.

"I had fun. Farewell. Steadily and silently..."

"Eh? What was that all about?" Lucy shouted in complete shock.

"Non, non, non." Juvia stopped. "Non, non, non." Lucy heard a voice, but didn't see anyone that it could have belonged to. She was sure it wasn't the woman who stopped because the voice sound like it came from a male...at least sort of like a male. "Non, non, non, non, non, non, non." Suddenly, the ground in front of her started rising, freaking her out a bit, as a strange man came out of the ground. "Bonjour with non in a 3-3-7 rhythm!"

"Another weirdo!"

"Juvia-sama! You can't just walk away from your mission." He told the women.

"Monsieur Sol." She responded.

"My monocle is whispering to me that that mademoiselle over there is none other than our precious target." Sol said as he moved his body from left to right.

"Oh? So, she's the one?" Juvia responded as she looked at Lucy.

"Huh?" The blond haired mage said in shock. "What are you...?"

"Pardon my manners; I am Sol! You may call me Monsieur Sol!" He introduced himself. "We come from the Great Phantom Lord to welcome you."

"Juvia is a member of the Element 4, who brings rain." Lucy's eyes widened in shock.

'P-Phantom...these people are the ones who...' She felt anger build in her. She gritted her teeth and quickly went to her waist to grab her keys. 'These people are the ones who hurt Natsu!' She glared at them. "You are the ones who hurt Natsu!"

"Non, non, non. I'd like to clear up that misunderstanding with three nons. Wrecking the guild, attacking your comrade; all were done by Gajeel-sama!" Lucy's eyes widened as she was suddenly trapped in a large sphere of water. "Although, it is true that this was done through a consensus of our guild."

Lucy struggled, but managed to get her head out of the large bubble and took a deep breath. "W-What is this?" Before she could hear an answer, she was sucked back into the bubble.

"Juvia's water lock cannot be broken." She told the Celestial Spirit Mage as she tried her best to stay conscious and not give in. However, it was useless as she slowly fell into unconsciousness as Sol chuckled.

"Mmmmm, tries bien!"

"Do not worry...Juvia won't kill you..." She told her captive, but she doubt that she was able to hear her. "...for it is Juvia's duty to bring you back, Lucy Heartfilia-sama."

"Mmmmm! Victoire!"

"Capture complete."

* * *

><p>The battle between Fairy Tail and Phantom raged on as both sides used their magic attacks to deal blows to the other.<p>

"Man, man, man! Being a man...is what a man is all about!" Elfman roared as he transformed his arm to that of a monsters and pummeled several mages from Phantom.

"What the hell is he saying?" One of them shouted.

"What is that arm?"

"It's 'takeover!'"

"That big dude 'took over' a monster in his arm!"

"T-There's really magic like that?"

"Elfman! Absorbing the powers of monsters that he defeated into his arm...Beast Arm Elfman!"

"Erza!" Makarov shouted, directing it toward one of his S Class Mages. "I'm putting you in charge here! Jose is probably at the top floor. I'm gonna tear him a new one!"

"As you wish, Master!" She replied with a nod and watched him as he walked up the stairs.

Meanwhile, the two men who were watching the battle above on the rafters watched Makarov as he left the are and up the stairs. "Yosh...looks like he's gone...so...should I go now?"

"Do as you wish." Gajeel smirked and then jumped downward. He slammed down to the floor hard and transformed his arm to a steel club and extended it so that he did damage to a couple of Fairy Tail members, but to several of his own comrades.

"What's up, Fairy Fucks!"

"No way...he even attacked his own comrades! What the hell is wrong with him?" Wakabe muttered.

Erza's eyes set themselves on Gajeel and she felt anger build up inside her. The image of Natsu being found in front of the tree appeared in her mind and it only made her anger increase to a boiling point. She instantly forgot everything else she had in her mind and charged at Gajeel. The Iron Dragon Slayer smirked when he saw Erza heading toward him. "Gajeel!" She roared and swung her sword at him, which he blocked by transforming his arm into a steel club.

"Oh? The knight of Fairy Tail sure is scary when she's angry." He chuckled, making her anger grow. "This wouldn't happen to be because I almost killed that weak Salamander, would it?" Erza reached her boiling point.

"Shut up!" She shouted as loud as her voice could go as Gajeel's smirk grew wider. He pushed her away so that he created some space between each other, but it wouldn't last long as Erza charged again and this time repeatedly swung her swords at him. Gajeel grunted a bit as he dodged or blocked her swords constantly. "Quit running away, you coward!" The word 'coward' seemed to have ticked the Iron Dragon slayer off as he suddenly grabbed both her swords with his bare hands. Erza's eyes widened at the strength of her opponent.

"What did you call me, bitch?" He growled and then puffed his cheeks. "Iron Dragon's Roar!" Erza quickly let go of her swords and jumped out of the way to avoid his attack. She managed to avoid the attack, but by doing so, others were hit in the line of fire; luckily no one from Fairy Tail was caught in it. "Now who's the coward!" He shouted and tossed her swords away.

"You bastard...don't you care about your own nakama!" Erza yelled back.

"It's not my fault they were in the way." He chuckled.

"Tch!" Erza quickly reequipped her armor into the Black Wing Armor.

"Oh...that armor looks kind of cool...to bad it won't do you any good!" He smirked and then transformed his arm into a steel club and extended it toward her. Erza jumped and began flying up to avoid, but Gajeel used his other arm to attack her as well. Fairy Tail's strongest female mage dodged Gajeel's attacks by flying around, while slowly descending down to him. Gajeel slowly began getting irritated that he was missing. He transformed both his arms into steel clubs and extended them toward her. He missed, but Erza was now caught in between the steel clubs. "Take this!" He roared and moved the clubs toward each other, planning to smash Erza while she was in the air.

"Erza! Watch out!" Gray shouted with widened eyes as he dodged an attack from a member of Phantom. The scarlet knight wasn't worried as she stopped and then flapped her wings so that she ascended up and watched as the steel club's smashed against each other.

"Bitch!" Gajeel gritted his teeth in anger.

'Now, it's my turn!' Erza quickly descended downward and swung her swords down at Gajeel, who managed to retract his clubs in time and block her swords. The blow created a small shock wave that was felt by any nearby mages as the two opponents glared at each other, while trying to push the other back. "Gajeel!" He smirked.

"I guess I have no choice in the matter..." The man who was up in the rafters sighed and then snapped his fingers.

"It's my turn..." Gajeel smirked as he felt his power increase. Erza was dumbfounded. She suddenly started to feel weaker. Not only that, but it seemed like her opponent was getting stronger.

'W-What's going on?' She was really confused. Then, Gajeel pushed her swords away and leaving her wide open.

"Hahaha...take this!" He transformed his arms once more and connected them into her stomach. She spat out blood as she crashed into the rafters.

"Erza!" Gray and the others shouted in shock.

"Damn him!" Elfman was prepared to charge at the Iron Dragon slayer, but he too suddenly started to feel weaker. 'What the...?' He was then struck in the face with a punch by one of the members of Phantom.

"Something is not right..." Cana muttered as she fell to a knee.

"Y-Yeah...for some reason...I feel weaker..." Macao agreed as he started breathing heavily.

"Ice Make: Lance!" Gray cast his magic, but as soon as he did, his ice melted. "What the hell...?" He then felt himself get weaker as he dropped to the floor on one knee.

"Hahahaha! See! All you Fairy Tail punks are nothing but a bunch of weaklings!" Gajeel laughed as every Fairy Tail member were getting tired quicker.

"He sure does have a big mouth..." The man on the rafters sighed.

"I don't know what's going on...but as long as we have our Master with us, we'll never lose to you!" Gray told Gajeel.

"Oh...we'll see about that..."

* * *

><p>"JOSE!" A very pissed off Makarov roared as he destroyed the door that stood in his way between him and the man he was ultimately going to kill for hurting one of his children. The explosion caused the wall surrounding the door to collapse as well shake the entire guild that even the others below them felt the shake. Makarov's magic spurt out of his body like lightning bolts, destroying every wall, statue and sculpting in the room. He could hear the chuckles coming from the man who sat at the end of the room and slowly walked toward him. His anger increasing the closer he got to him. "What the hell do you think you're doing, huh, Jose?"<p>

"Why...hello there. Long time no see, Makarov-san." Jose greeted the angry Master of Fairy Tail. "It must have been since the regular meeting six years ago...boy...I was so stumped that time...I clearly overdid with the sake..."

Makarov became pissed at the calm attitude Jose was showing and couldn't help but let his anger get loose and grew his arm to that of a giant and punched Jose, breaking the chair he was sitting on. "I'm not here to reminisce with you, Jose!"

"Ho, ho, ho...my oh my..." Makarov's eyes widened in shock as he saw that Jose was not real, but an image.

"An image? You are already gone from this guild?"

"A battle among two of the ten holy great mages can cause extraordinary natural occurrences. I prefer a rational victory." He chuckled and tipped his hat up.

"Where are you? Come and fight me fair and square!" He yelled at his fellow Guild Master. He didn't respond and instead, another image appeared in front Jose and Makarov's eyes widened once more. "Lucy! W-Why?" He then looked at Jose and his eyes widened even further as he saw him take out a knife and tried to stab one of his children right in front of him. "Nooo!" Makarov reached his arm out to try and stop him, but he knew it was going to be useless because they were just images, but he had to try. However, he wasn't going to be able to do anything as a large man with a bandage covering his eyes appeared behind him. 'Shit! I didn't even feel his presence! Where did he come from?'

"So-So-Sorrowful!" The mage named Aria of the Sky as he used his magic to start draining Makarov of his powers.

"Ho, ho, ho...there's no way we'd kill Lucy-sama, right? At least, not yet..." Jose told his fellow guild master as he chuckled at the sight of him getting his magic drained.

"Aaaaahhhh!" Makarov screamed in pain. 'I can't use my magic...it's almost like my magic is being drained out of my body!'

"Please don't tell me you don't know who Lucy Heartfilia-sama is, while she was in your guild this entire time. Well, I guess it's none of your business any more...hehehehe."

"It's too sorrowful!" Aria cried as Makarov was smashed down and through the floor before slamming straight down to the battlefield between Fairy Tail and Phantom. "Where dost this sorrow cometh from?"

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at the master of Fairy Tail hitting the floor hard. "W-What was that?" Gray asked as he turned around as soon as he heard the sounds of wood breaking.

"Heh...looks like that worked. I'm impressed." The man in the rafters chuckled as he smirked at Makarov's motionless body. At that moment, Erza appeared again and when her eyes set on the Master, her eyes widened in horror. Not only that, but she felt like her heart was going to shatter.

"M-M-Master!" She cried and descended down to him.

"Ah...arg...my..m-magic..." He managed to let out as he felt all his strength gone. Erza's eye began tearing up at the sight of her Master.

"Aria-san's magic consists of taking away an opponent's magic power, or in other words; making it 'void'. This victory is ours!" Jose laughed as he looked down at the weakened Makarov.

"Tch...fun's over." Gajeel cursed his luck as he watched the Fairy Tail members gather around their fallen Master.

"Master! Hang in there!" Erza cried out as she lifted his head up.

"What's going on? I can't feel nay magic from Master!"

"Wait a minute! Doesn't that mean he's nothing, but a plain old geezer?"

"How?"

"Ha...ha...ha..."

"No way...how can the Master be defeated?"

"I-Impossible!"

"W-What on earth happened upstairs?"

"This our chance! Attack those Fairy scums!"" The Phantom Guild all roared and went on the offensive as Fairy Tail tried their best to defend themselves with their new confident opponents.

'No...this is bad...not only have our strength suddenly became weaker...our morale took a blow as well...' Erza wiped her eye as she looked around the battlefield. 'We have no choice...' She made her decision and lowered Makarov to the floor gently. "Retreat!" She shouted as loud as she could. "Retreat back to the Guild!"

Everyone in Fairy Tail gasped and widened their eyes in shock at Erza's decision.

"No way!" Gray shouted.

"Men don't retreat!" Elfman added as he fended off several members of Phantom.

"Yeah, I can still fight!" Macao told her, but even he felt that he was getting weaker.

"Me too!" Bisca shouted, but she too felt weaker.

"We cannot defeat Jose without our Master! We're retreating! This is an order!" She shouted back. This time, there were no arguments and they did what Erza ordered them to.

"Leaving already, huh?" Gajeel sighed in disappointment as he watched Fairy Tail begin to retreat. He jumped up to the rafters and landed next to the red haired man as Aria joined them.

"Sorrowful!" He cried, tears running down his face.

"Aria...you're creepy as always." Gajeel told him. "I'm surprised that you managed to beat the old geezer."

"It was all part of Master Jose's plan." He told him as the red haired man chuckled.

"I must admit, that weakling did make a good plan...although...this would have been more interesting if the Salamander was here...but I guess taking him out first was the smart move..."

"Wonderful!" Aria cried.

"Jeez! Would you stop crying?" Gajeel pleaded as he was getting tired of all his crying. "So...did we capture that girl Lucy?" He asked.

"Yes...we confined her in our headquarters!" Aria responded.

"Really now?" The red haired man muttered. "You know...I think I have another idea."

"Oh?" Gajeel and Aria looked at him.

"We first got rid of the Salamander, then we got rid of their Master...so how about we get rid of someone else as well. This is what you need to do...Gajeel." He whispered something to him.

"Are you sure that would work?" He asked.

"Hey, do you doubt me?"

"Hehehehe...not at all." The Iron Dragonslayer smirked and jumped down to the main floor.

"Let's go! Retreat!" Erza continued to shout. She watched as her comrades were escaping and made sure that no one was left behind. When she saw that everyone from Fairy Tail was in front of her she sighed and was about to make a run for it as well, but before she could move, she felt the presence of the Iron dragonslayer behind her. He placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I wouldn't leave so soon, Titania...after all...who would save Lucy from her hold in our headquarters?" Erza's eyes widened.

"What did you say?" She shouted and tried a backhand, but Gajeel jumped away, back up to the rafters and disappearing from her view. 'No way...they got...Lucy...?' She wanted to get more answers, but seeing as how she didn't have time, she turned and left with the others. 'Why would he tell me that? It doesn't make sense...unless...unless they plan to lure me out into a trap...damn it...what should I do?'

"Hey Erza!" The scarlet knight turned her head to see Gray run up to her. "What happened? What did that Iron Dragonslayer want?"

"He told me that they captured Lucy and are holding her at their headquarters." Gray's eyes widened.

"W-What? Is it true?"

"I-I don't know...I get this feeling that they are planning a trap or something..." Erza told him.

"I wouldn't count it out..." The ice mage told her. "What should we do?"

"I don't know...in any case we don't know for sure if they captured Lucy or not...I have to make sure that she is okay..."

"But..."

"I know...I'll be careful...just make sure everyone else gets back safely."

"R-Right..." Gray responded as Erza ran toward the direction of Phantom's headquarters. He watched her with a frown, but he knew she could take of herself. Whether they really captured Lucy is something he didn't know. He just hoped that the guild wasn't going to lose Erza as well.

* * *

><p>Lucy slowly began opening her eyes as she felt her hands being restrained by something. When she fully opened her eyes she saw herself in a room made of rock and a steel door with metal bars on them. She sat up and tried to free her hands, but the rope that had them tied wasn't budging at all. "W-What is this?" She was really confused. Where was she? How did she even get here? Suddenly, the events she remembered last ran through her head and she understood where she was. 'I get it...I was captured by Phantom and now I'm in some type of prison cell...'<p>

"So...you're awake, Lucy Heartfilia-sama." She quickly snapped her head in the direction of the door as she saw a man who looked like a mage.

"W-Who are you?"

"I'm Phantom Lord's Guild Master, Jose." He introduced himself as he opened the door and walked toward her.

"You're Phantom's Guild Master!" Lucy exclaimed in shock.

"Yes...I must apologize for tying you up and putting you in this filthy jail...but you're still a captive, so please try and understand." He told her.

"Shut up! Untie me now! How dare you do all that to Natsu?" She cried.

"You know...depending on your attitude...we might treat you like a 'VIP' instead of a captive." Jose told her.

"What?" She asked as she felt something crawling on her leg. "Kyaah!" She screamed in fear and tried to get away from the centipede.

"See? You really don't want to be in a jail like this." He snickered. "If you behave, we'll move you to the suite room."

"Why did you attack us?"

"Us? Oh you mean 'Fairy Tail'? You see...that was an extra! Just an extra!"

"W-What?"

"Our true objective was to get a hold of someone who by chance resides in Fairy Tail. So, we thought, why not kill two birds with one stone."

"A c-certain individual?"

"Do you really not get it? I thought someone from a prestige family like the Heartfilia Family would be so...what's the word...stupid."

"W-What?" Lucy's eyes widened at his words as he approached her.

"I'm talking about you, the daughter of Jude Heartfilia, Lucy Heartfilia-sama." Lucy's eyes widened a bit more before she cringed.

"H-How do you know that?"

"I heard you were hiding your social standing in the guild. I don't know why the daughter of one of the richest men in the world is doing at a place like Fairy Tail...but..."

"So, you kidnapped me?"

"No..of course not. It was none other than your father who requested to get you." At this, Lucy's eyes widened as far as they could go.

"N-No...you're lying...why would he...?" Her body shook as she mumbled.

"Isn't it normal if a pretty daughter runs away from home, people search for her?"

"No!" She shouted. "He wouldn't! That man wouldn't do something like that! I'll never go back! I'll never go back to such a home!"

"You really are a troublesome lady..." He sighed.

"Release me at once!"

"Sorry...can't do that." Lucy stared at him before her face became red.

"But...I need to use the bathroom."

"A simple and classic excuse, isn't it?"

"But I really need to go..." She whined.

"Fine then, go!" He told her and pointed to a bucket that was in the room.

"You're kidding me!" She shouted in shock.

"Ho, ho, ho...it's so classic that you won't catch us off guard." He told her.

"I guess I have no choice..." She sighed and stood up. She walked to bucket before positioning herself over it.

"You're actually gonna do it!" Jose shouted with his eyes popping out of his head. He continued to look at her in case she was bluffing, but from the looks of it, she wasn't actually going to do it. He then turned away. "Such a shameless lady! You're lucky I'm a gentleman!" Lucy smirked before sneaking behind him and then kicking him in the groin. "YEOOOOOOOOWWWWWW!" He shouted in so much pain.

"A classic strategy isn't all so bad...because they still work after all." She smirked as Jose fell to his knees and grabbed his crotch. "Well then...later!" She winked at him and went toward the door that Jose came through. However, as soon as she got to the door, her eye's widened as she saw that there was nothing in front of her and that she was a long way up from the ground. "W-What?"

"Hahahahaha...pity isn't it...our sky prison..." Jose muttered as he looked at her. Lucy quickly turned around as she saw Phantom's Guild Master get back up to his feet slowly.

"How...how dare you...do that to me..." He snickered. Lucy bit her bottom lip as she was trapped like a mouse. The image of her father entered her head and she shuddered at the thought of seeing him again. "Now then...come to me...it's punishment time...I have to teach you the atrociousness of the Phantom..." He snickered. Lucy closed her eyes tightly before she did something that Jose was not expecting and jumped backward. "WHAAAATT?" Jose shouted in shock as Lucy started falling toward the ground. "Gah..." He cringed as the pain returned and he fell to his knees.

'Why did I do it? Why did I jump? Is this really how it's going to end for me? Everyone at Fairy Tail...mom...Natsu...I'm sorry...'

"LUCY!" The celestial spirit mage opened her eyes at the familiar voice of one of her comrades. Suddenly, she felt cold metal on her back and behind her knees and felt herself pressing against the metal. The first thing she saw was the red color of her savior's hair. The very familiar scarlet colored hair of one Erza Scarlet.

Erza was glad she made it in time as she caught Lucy in her arms and dropped to the ground on her feet. She raised her head and looked at Lucy before smiling at her. "E-Erza..."

"You alright...Lucy?" Her savior asked as she nodded her head. "Here...let me untie you." She told her and let her down to the ground before taking out her sword and cutting the rope that held her hands together. "There you go."

"Thank you..." Lucy thanked her as she rubbed her wrists.

"What happened? How did they get you?" She asked.

"I'm sorry..." Erza's eyes widened at the way the blond teen shook. "I-It's all my fault...I'm sorry..."

"Lucy...what are you apologizing for? This isn't your fault..."

"B-But it is...I..."

"My...isn't this a pathetic sight?" Both woman widened their eyes in shock at the sudden sensation that ran through their body as the words coming from the man behind that made a shiver run down their spines. Erza quickly grabbed Lucy and jumped away from the man as he smirked at them. "Whoa...no need to be so jumpy..."

"Who the hell are you? Are you with Phantom?" Erza demanded an answer as she pointed her sword at the man with red hair.

"You can say that..." He snickered and raised his arms to allow two swords to appear in his hands. "Although...to put me in the same group as those weaklings is an insult."

"Who are you?" She asked again.

"That's right...you don't stop until you get your answer...fine then...allow me to introduce myself...the name is Alastor." Alastor smirked.

"Alastor?" Erza repeated.

"You know...you really are one of the very few people in this country that I wanted to fight." He told her.

"Should I feel honored?" She asked, glaring at him.

"You should...after all...why wouldn't you feel honored to fight the man who dealt the finishing blow to the man who beat you." Erza and Lucy looked at him in shock.

"W-What?"

"What? You didn't see the large 'X' cut on the Salamander's chest? Who do you think gave that to him?" He smirked.

"YOU BASTARD!" Erza screamed and charged at Alastor.

"Yes! That's it! Let your anger consume you!" He laughed maliciously as he blocked her sword attack with his own sword. "You sure are strong...inf act, now that I take a closer look at you...you are pretty hot..." He snickered as Erza felt disgusted by his comment. She jumped back and then swung her sword again, only to be blocked again. "Is this really all you got?" He smirked.

"Shut up!" The scarlet knight shouted and quickly re-equipped her armor to the Purgatory Armor.

"Oh...such scary armor..." Alastor said with amusement in his voice.

"Take this!" She shouted and swung the large metal, spiked mace down at him. Alastor smirked and blocked the heavy mace with both his swords. Erza's eyes widened in shock. "H-How is that...?"

"You look shocked." He snickered. "Why is it so shocking that someone is stronger than you? After all...I am the guy who almost killed Salamander." Erza's anger grew as she tried to put all her strength into crushing his arms, but no matter how much she tried, he wasn't budging.

"Erza..." Lucy whispered as she looked on.

"Hahahaha! You are quite strong when your angry...but still not strong enough...but I do have to ask...what are you really angry about?"

"With you!" She shouted.

"Oh...that's strange...because I recognize this anger...I'm sure your angry with me for what I did to Salamander...but to me it feels like there is more than that...isn't there?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh...now I get it...hahahaha...this anger...you're not only doing this because of what I did to Natsu Dragneel...your doing this mostly because...you have feelings for him...don't you?"

"W-What?" Erza was so surprised by the question that she jumped away from Alastor and slightly stumbled when she landed her feet on the ground. "W-What are you talking about?"

"E-Erza...is that true?" Lucy asked in shock.

"Of course not!"

"You say that, but your face tells a different story!" Alastor laughed as he pointed toward Erza's flustered face.

"Shut up!" Erza shouted back at him trying to get rid of the red from her face.

'Erza likes...Natsu? No...that can't be...can it?' Lucy wondered. 'But if it's true...then...' She felt her mouth turn into a frown.

"I had enough out of you!" The scarlet knight charged at the red haired man who snickered at how embarrassed she looked.

"Hahahaha! Sure, let's have some more fun!" He said and both clashed weapons once again. "Come on Titania! I know you're better than this!" He said and pushed her mace so that it left her unbalanced and open for an attack.

'Shit...'

"Let's see how strong your armor is against my strength...Titania!" Alastor shouted and was about to slash Erza in half, but he suddenly stopped and jumped away as he sensed something nearby. Erza wondered why he stopped, but allowed herself to regain her balance and prepare herself in case something was going to happen. "Tch...you are always ruining my fun...fine...listen here Titania! I decided to spare you because of reasons I don't have to tell you. However, next time we meet, you better be prepared." He told her and then disappeared.

"Wait!" Erza shouted, but he was long gone. "Damn it!" She cursed before re-quipping to her Hearts Kreuz Armor. She then walked toward Lucy. "Are you alright?" She asked.

"Erza..." Lucy whispered.

"Huh?"

"Do you really like Natsu...like 'like like'?" At her question, Erza's face became red in embarrassment and she waved her hands back and forth.

"Of course not! Don't believe that guy! Me? Liking Natsu? Don't be silly!" She chuckled nervously.

"I see..." Lucy responded before looking sown to the ground. 'Erza...you are a bad liar...'

"Let's head back..." The scarlet knight told her.

"Why? I mean...it's all my fault that everything is happening...the guild...to Natsu...it's all my fault...but...I want to stay in the guild...I love Fairy Tail so much!" She cried as tears ran down her face.

"Lucy...no one is going to blame you for what happened...you are a member of Fairy Tail..our comrade...you will always be our friend...and you'll always be a member of Fairy Tail...no matter what!" Erza smiled at her as she pulled the younger girl into a hug. "Let's head back..."

"R-R-Right..." She sobbed in response.

* * *

><p>"<em>Damn this is getting annoying..." The man sighed and absorbed another blast of Dragon Roar. "Come on Natsu! Control your powers!" He yelled over to Natsu who growled at him.<em>

"_Wraaahhh!" _

"_Stop roaring and get your ass to gear! I don't have a whole lifetime to wait for you!" He yelled again trying to get through to him. "Natsu!"_

"_Wraaaahhhh!" Natsu roared loudly again as he let out another Dragon Roar. _

"_Oh for fucks sake!" He cursed and absorbed the attack again. The man then fell to his knees after absorbing all of Natsu's attacks. "Damn it Natsu! I can't keep absorbing your attacks! If you keep doing this you would really go into a coma and you won't be able to help your friends!" Suddenly, the man noticed a small little twitch. 'I see...so that's why...' The man smirked as he found out how to help Natsu control his power._

"_Wraaahhh!"_

"_Natsu! I understand now! You were scared of hurting your friends with this power! I can understand that! However, what if you use that power to help and protect your friends! But that can''t happen unless you control it! Come on Natsu! Do you want your friends to get killed by someone who is stronger than you? Huh? Do you?" _

"_Wraaaahhhhh!" Natsu roared the loudest he ever did and to the man's surprise, the flames that were surrounding him were disappearing. He then, collapsed to the floor._

_'He finally settled down...however...this is when the real trial begins...you can do it...Natsu!'_

* * *

><p>Fairy Tail finally arrived back at Magnolia. After retreating from Phantom's Guild, they immediately went toward their destroyed Guild to think of a new strategy. Makarov was being treated in the forest by Porlyusica who told Bisca and Alzack to get lost while she treated him.<p>

When Mirajane and Levy heard of their comrades arrival, they talked to Gray, Happy and Elfman about Natsu's condition. After some discussion, they decided that it would be best to have Natsu close by in case Phantom decided to attack them again. So, Elfman picked up Natsu and carried him back to the Guild and they created a small medic area for him. Then, they started to formulate plans as Erza came back to the Guild with Lucy right behind her.

Lucy looked around the Guild to see how badly some of her friends were injured from the fight they had with Phantom. She immediately felt guilty that they got all these injuries because of her. She blamed herself for everything. If she hadn't run away, then maybe her friends wouldn't have gotten hurt. Granted that she probably wouldn't have called them friends if she hadn't run away. She then looked away from the others and back at Natsu. He still was unconscious.

'Natsu...I...I'm really sorry...I'm so sorry this happened to you...' She clenched the end of her skirt really tightly. Just seeing the person who brought her to this guild that she loved with her all her heart like this was just too much for her. She blamed herself because she knew it was her fault. It was all her fault. She should just go with Phantom and they would leave her alone. In order to protect her friends, that was what she had to do.

When she told the others about why she was kidnapped, they were surprised. However, they didn't care about any of that. They told her that it didn't matter who she was because she was Lucy from Fairy Tail. They told her that she was a member of this Guild and because of that they would protect her no matter what.

"You still worried?" Lucy perked up at Gray's voice and turned her head to look at him.

"No...it's just that...I'm sorry..."

"Well, daughters from rich families are destined to be targeted and it's a man's duty to protect them!" Elfman added as he placed his fist on his chest.

"Don't say that." Gray told him.

"But I'm surprised too." Happy said. "Lucy, why were you hiding it?"

"I wasn't so much hiding it...but I ran away from home a year ago and not once did he want me back. Now he suddenly wants me back, I just don't get it. Papa this all of this...to the Guild...and to Natsu...to just get me back. He's horrible! Although...all of this happened because I ran away from home in the first place, right...?"

"N-No! That's not right! Papa is the bad one!" Elfman told her.

"Idiot!" Gray shouted at him.

"Ah! I mean it's all Phantom's fault!" He corrected himself.

"Because of my selfish actions...I can't believe I caused so much trouble for everyone...maybe everything will get better if I just go back home..." Lucy admitted.

"I'm sure that...if Natsu was awake he'll tell you that Fairy Tail is your home!" All three of them looked at Happy who smiled at Lucy. "I'm sure that he would tell you that the word 'lady' wouldn't suit you and that you are better in a place like this; laughing with all of us and going on cool and awesome adventures as well!"

"Happy..." Lucy whispered his name and tears came to her eyes.

"Oi! Don't cry; it doesn't suit you..." Gray told her as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah! Men are weak to tears!" Elfman added, trying his best not to cry along side her.

Loke watched the four of them as they talked amongst themselves around Natsu and frowned. He especially had his eyes on Lucy as he thought back to what happened in his past between him and Celestial Spirit Mages.

Levy chatted with her fellow Shadow Gear teammates, worried that they overdid themselves, but thankfully, they weren't as hurt as she thought they were going to be. She sighe din relief at that before she joined Lucy and the others.

At another area in the basement of the Guild, Cana was doing one of her fortune magic to try and find the location of one of Fairy Tail's strongest mages, Mystogan. However, she was having no luck as she slammed one of her cards down onto the others. "Damn it! I can't tell where Mystogan is!"

"I see...that's too bad..." Mirajane said from behind her.

"If they're target is Lucy, then they'll come to attack us again. Many of us are injured and without the Master or Natsu then we'll be in a tough spot." Cana told her.

"Master is seriously wounded and we cannot find Mystogan. That's why you're our only hope...Laxus." Mirajane told him as she looked at him through the La'cryma that was used to communicate with someone far away.

"Huh?" He responded.

"Please come back...it's an emergency..." Mirajane pleaded.

"Serves that shitty geezer right! Hahahahaha!" Laxus laughed. "This doesn't concern me whatsoever! Why don't you get Natsu to save your asses...I mean after all...all of you were so proud and confident to say that he was stronger than me!"

"Natsu...he's..." Mirajane couldn't finish the sentence as she knew hat kind of response she would get from this man.

"What happened? Did the poor little shit get his ass kicked? Hahahahaha! That is hilarious and after all that crap about him getting an S Class Promotion! This is just hilarious!" Mirajane felt her anger growing as she continued to listen to his voice.

"Laxus! You!" Cana tried to defend the Master and Natsu.

"Isn't that how it is? That geezer started the fight. Why do we have to clean his mess up?" He asked.

"Lucy, our comrade, is their target." Mirajane told him despite how angry she was getting with his attitude.

"Huh? Who's that? Oh...isn't that the new girl with blond hair and big boobs? You know what...I'll help you guys out...but only if that newbie becomes my woman. Also, tell that Geezer to hurry up and retire so that I can get his Master's position." He told them as Mirajane's anger reached it's boiling point.

"How dare you?" Cana shouted at him.

"Hey now...is that really the way you should talk to someone who you are asking a favor for? Tell you what...how about you strip for me? I'm pretty weak for sexy-" The La'cryma suddenly shattered into many pieces as Cana's eyes widened in shock and looked at Mirajane.

"Mira..."

"I can't believe...someone like him is a member of Fairy Tail..." She cried as tears fell from her eyes. "Fine! Next time I'll fight too!" She declared as she tried walking away, but Cana placed a hand on her shoulder.

"What are you talking about?" She shouted at her.

"It's because Lucy got kidnapped while I was here and..."

"No. You'll be a burden to the others in your current situation." She told her as Mirajane clenched her fists tightly. "Even though you were once a an S Class Mage yourself."

'I know that...' Mirajane thought as she tried her best to wipe her tears away. '...but I want to be helpful...I want help everyone...Natsu...please...please wake up...'

* * *

><p>'Master's absence...Mystogan and Laxus are nowhere near the Guild and Natsu is unconscious...we can't continue this fight any further...' Erza contemplated as she looked up to the nozzle that allowed water to soak her naked body. After what happened between herself and that man named Alastor, she needed to take a shower to help her cool down. She never fought someone as powerful as he was. She even re-quipped to one of her strongest armor and she still wasn't able to beat him. She placed a hand on the wall in front of her.<p>

_Jose is probably on the top floor. I'm gonna tear him a new one!_

Makarov's words played in her head as she remembered the last time she spoke to him. She then clenched her fists and punched the wall as hard as she could. 'Damn it! I should have went with him! I'm pathetic! It's all my fault!' She beat herself up about it as she knew that if she went with Makarov to confront Jose then the Guild wouldn't be in it's current situation. Then again, something was strange during their fight. It was almost like they were losing their magic every second they were in that place. She wondered what could have caused that. 'Could that man have something to do with this?' She wondered. There was something strange about that man, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

_Oh...now I get it...hahahaha...you're not only doing this because of what I did to Natsu Dragneel...your doing this mostly because...you have feelings for him...don't you?_

Erza could feel her face get warm at his words and it was not because of the temperature of the water. What were her feelings toward Natsu? She knew they were very good friends. However, she just couldn't get his words out of her head. Could she possibly like Natsu? No...that sounds really ridiculous...but then why did she feel like it wasn't as ridiculous as she thinks it is. The sudden image of a man with blue hair entered her mind and clenched her fists tightly again. 'I just don't understand it...why do I feel this way?'

Suddenly, a loud noise came out of nowhere as the ground slightly shook. Everyone was surprised by this and looked at each other all wondering what was going on.

"W-What?"

"What's going on?"

"Everybody! It's coming from outside!" Alzack shouted as everyone rushed outside. When they arrived, their eyes widened in shock at the large building walking toward their guild.

"W-What the hell is that?"

"The Guild is walking!" Wakabe shouted.

"Is it Phantom?" Macao asked.

"You got to be kidding me!"

"No way...I never imagined them to attack us like this!" Erza stated in shock as she stared at the walking building that belonged to Phantom.

"What should we do?"

The walking guild then stopped as the others waited for what would happen next. "Prepare the Magical Convergent Cannon, 'Jupiter'!" Jose instructed his men as they saluted him and did as they were ordered. Fairy Tail watched in shock as the large gate doors opened and a large cannon came out from inside the building. "Obliterate them!" Jose said with no remorse.

"Oh no! Everybody, get down!" Erza told them as she felt uneasy as soon as she saw the cannon come out from the building. She then ran toward the building and tossed her towel away before re-quipping to her Adamantine Armor. "I won't let you take down our guild!"

"Erza...that's your...don't tell us that you're going to try and stop our attack!"

"No Erza! Even though that armor is known for it's high defensive power..."

"You'll die!"

"Erza!"

Lucy's eyes widened in horror as the cannon fired it's beam at the guild with full intent to destroy everyone. Everyone ducked for cover as Erza awaited the full blow of the magic cannon. Erza quickly covered her arms to defend her friends and the guild from the blast. She did so successfully, but her armor shattered into pieces as she was blown back by the force until she skidded to a stop several feet in front of the guild.

"Erza!"

* * *

><p>"<em>So...you finally were able to control your powers...I must say...you do know how to give people hear attacks...however...your true test comes here..."<em>

"_W-What the hell?" Natsu asked as he stared at someone who looked very familiar to him in front of him. "What is this?"_

"_This...Natsu...is the final test to be able to control your true strength...you must defeat him to finally end it all..."_

"_Yeah...but..."_

"_Your opponent is the one thing that is keeping you still here while your friends are out there fighting...Natsu...you have to face the man who embodies every ounce of the fear that you kept hidden in your heart...the same fear that kept you from controlling your true strength...the same fear that turned itself into that person in front of you...he has many names...but I think the best name to call him is...Anti-Natsu."_

"_A-Anti-Natsu..." Natsu repeated a she stared at his look-a-like as he opened his eyes to reveal his dark colored sclera and white colored pupils, as he gave Natsu one of the most sinister smirks he has ever seen. He then licked his lips with his tongue signaling that he was hungry for him._

"_What's up...asshole!"_

**To Be Continued...**

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes: <strong>Hmmm, education is important so you probably would guess why I haven't updated this story or any of them for that matter. Well, other than that I guess there really isn't much to say. WAIT A MINUTE! There is something! Oh wait...nah never mind that can come at a later chapter. Excuse my rambling, I hope you enjoy the chapter! Ja ne!


	16. Natsu Awakens

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related which includes the characters of Fairy Tail.

**Rated M! You have been warned!**

**Not yet Edited! Will be soon!**

* * *

><p>Chapter 16: Natsu Awakens<p>

_Several Minutes ago..._

"_Oi Natsu...you dead?" The figure asked as he lightly kicked Natsu on the side. 'Hmm...this is odd...he calmed down so he should have woken up by now.' He decided to kick him again, but there was still no reaction. 'He's either dead or sleeping...' The figure sighed and rubbed the back of his head. So, he decided to kick him again and this time planned to put more force into it. Just before he made contact with his body, Natsu grabbed his leg. "Oh...you're awake now..." Unexpectedly, Natsu suddenly bit down on his leg. "Ow! What the hell? Let go of me, you idiot!" The figure yelled as he shook his leg to get him off._

_Seeing as how Natsu wasn't going to let go, he jumped in the air and then kicked him with his other leg in the face. _

"_..." Natsu responded as he sluggishly stood up. _

"_Hmm?" The figure raised an eyebrow as he saw something black coming out of his mouth. 'That's...' The man sighed and removed the glove off of his right hand. 'So...this is the path you have to take...you always have to go all out don't you, Natsu...' The figure ran toward the zombie like form of Natsu. A small magic circle appeared in front of his hand and then slammed it into his stomach._

"_Gaah!" Natsu groaned in pain as he felt magic enter his body. The man then started pulling his hand back and when he did, the black thing that was coming out of Natsu's mouth, began coming out of his stomach. With one strong pull, the man was able to pull out all the black stuff as it soared into the air above them. Natsu dropped to his knees and started catching his breath. "W-What...w-what happened...?" Natsu said in between his breaths._

"_You're finally awake, huh?" The man said, keeping his eyes on the dark matter above them. He watched as it descended back down and started taking form. Natsu looked up at the man and saw him looking at something else. He stood up and then turned his body to see what got his attention._

"_W-What?"_

_"So...you finally were able to control your powers...I must say...you do know how to give people heart attacks...however...your true test comes here..."_

"_W-What the hell?" Natsu asked as he stared at someone who looked very familiar to him in front of him. "What is this?"_

"_This...Natsu...is the final test to be able to control your true strength...you must defeat him to finally end it all..."_

"_Yeah...but..."_

"_Your opponent is the one thing that is keeping you still here while your friends are out there fighting...Natsu...you have to face the man who embodies every ounce of the fear that you kept hidden in your heart...the same fear that kept you from controlling your true strength...the same fear that turned itself into that person in front of you...he has many names...but I think the best name to call him is...Anti-Natsu."_

"_A-Anti-Natsu..." Natsu repeated a she stared at his look-a-like as he opened his eyes to reveal his dark colored sclera and white colored pupils, as he gave Natsu one of the most sinister smirks he has ever seen. He then licked his lips with his tongue signaling that he was hungry for him._

"_What's up...asshole!"_

"_Who you calling an asshole, asshole!" Natsu yelled back pointing a finger at his dark half._

"_Oooh, somebody call the burn department...you suck!" He mocked._

"_Bastard!" Natsu shouted and charged at his dark half. Anti-Natsu only smirked as he watched a fist head straight right into his face. The fist blew right through him as he dispersed. "W-What?" Natsu asked looking around to see his dark half disappear. "Where are you?"_

"_Natsu!" The fire Dragonslayer's eyes widened when he recognized the familiar voice and turned around. His eyes widened when he saw Lucy standing a few feet away from him. She was smiling at him._

"_L-Lucy...w-what are you doing here?" He asked, confused and surprised._

"_Natsu..." She repeated again. Natsu started walking toward her, as a grin was starting to grow on his face. _

"_Lucy!" He ran toward her. Suddenly, something felt wrong and his eyes widened in horror as his dark half appeared behind Lucy and then stabbed his hand through Lucy's chest. _

"_N-Natsu..." Lucy spoke as blood ran down the side of her mouth and her chest._

"_LUCY!" Natsu shouted and ran as fast as he could toward her. Anti-Natsu smirked and removed his hand from her chest before jumping away, allowing Lucy to fall straight onto Natsu's chest. "Oi! Lucy!" He cried out to her._

"_N-Natsu...I...I..." She then became silent as he saw no life in her eyes._

"_LUCY!" Natsu screamed as his friend died right in his arms._

"_Aww...poor little old you...you couldn't save your nakama again...even after all that training you did..." Natsu heard his dark side's voice as he kept his eyes shut tightly. The tears that fell down his face stopped. He then wiped them away, before putting Lucy down. _

"_Shut up..." He growled._

"_Aww...is the little dragonslayer all sad now...you really are pathetic...maybe you should just let me take over and I'll save those friend of yours...and then maybe...they might let me do something that I want as a reward..." He said in a tone that Natsu despised._

"_I said shut up...!" Natsu roared as his flames erupted from his body like a volcano explosion._

"_Hahaha! Now we're getting somewhere!"_

* * *

><p>"ERZA!" The guild all shouted as Gray ran toward her.<p>

"After Makarov...now Erza is unable to fight..." Jose's voice rang out through the microphone inside the walking guild. "You don't stand a chance. So...hand over Lucy Heartfilia. Right now!" He demanded with a very angry face.

"No way!" Alzack was the first to fire back.

"What kind of guild would give up their comrades?" Bisca followed.

"Lucy's our comrade!" Macao agreed.

"Yeah!"

"That's right!"

"Get the hell out of here!"

"We'll never give her up!"

"Hand her over!" Jose spoke through the speaker again.

"I...I..." Lucy started to tremble and tears began forming in her eyes. Hearing everyone from the guild saying all these things made her feel so happy, but also conflicted as well. She wants to stay with them so much that it hurt. The faces of Makarov and Natsu made her feel miserable because she felt it was her fault that they ended up the way they did. She couldn't handle it if the rest of her comrades joined them.

"WE'D RATHER DIE THAN GIVE UP OUR OWN COMRADE!" Erza shouted as Lucy gasped at her words. Despite everything, they still wanted to protect her. The rest of the guild cheered as well and it only made the warm feeling inside of her increase in joy. Her tears of happiness started slowly falling from her eyes as she placed her hands over her mouth to prevent her sobs from being heard by her comrades as they prepared to fight for her.

"I see..." Jose spoke. "THEN WE'LL FIRE AN EVEN BIGGER AND STRONGER BLAST FOR YOU INSOLENTS! NOW STRUGGLE IN THIS 15 MINUTES OF TERROR UNTIL IT'S RELOADED!"

"What?"

"J-Jupiter..."

"They'll...fire it again?"

"Erza!" Gray shouted as he looked over the scarlet haired woman. When he saw that she was breathing heavily and her eyes were closed, he knew she wasn't going to be able to fight for a while. 'Damn it...even for Erza stopping one of those blasts was too much...' He turned his head back to the others as he picked Erza's head off the ground.

Suddenly, a bunch of ghostly looking soldiers came out of the walking guild. This was a surprise to the members of Fairy Tail.

"W-Wha...? Their soldiers are coming out!"

"No way! Aren't they just going to fire Jupiter?"

"No mercy..."

"Feel the pain Fairy Tail! You have two choices!" Jose spoke again. "Get killed by my soldiers or die by Jupiter!"

"I-Impossible! He plans to kill his own men with Jupiter as well?"

"He's just threatening us...he won't fire it..."

"Yes he will..." Cana told them. They all gasped in shock. "That's Jose's magic...'Shade'...they're not human but ghost soldiers that he created himself."

"Shade?"

"G-Ghosts?"

"We gotta do something about Jupiter..." Cana said in worry.

"I guess there is only one thing to do...we gotta destroy it." Gray said as he walked past Cana.

"Gray..."

"We have to destroy the cannon in 15 minutes...seeing as Erza and Natsu are both it's up to me to stop it." Cana nodded her head.

"I'll go too!" Elfman exclaimed as he stood next to Gray, his arms crossed over his chest. "It's a man's duty to help his comrades!"

"Aye! Me too!" Happy exclaimed and stood in front of the two, his small paws on his side.

"Alright then! Let's go, Elfman!" Gray shouted as both men and cat charged toward the building, Gray created an ice bridge toward the building.

"Loki...both me and you will strengthen our defense here, alright?" Cana said as Loki nodded and pushed his glasses up.

"Yeah..."

Lucy looked at her comrades as they prepared to fight and she started wondering if she should do something to help them. Mirajane then came up to her and grabbed her arm, surprising the blond haired celestial spirit mage. "Lucy! Come this way!" She told her.

"Huh?"

"We have a hideout for you to hide in until the war is over." She told her and started dragging Lucy away from the others. Loki heard them and turned his head to look at the two.

"B-But..." Lucy began to argue as she pulled her hand away from Mirajane's grasp. "...but I want to stay and fight too! It's my fault that this is happening."

"No Lucy." Mirajane replied with a serious tone. "No one thinks it's your fault. For our comrades who were defeated for our guild and to protect you...everyone's proud of this war." Lucy looked down tot he ground at her words and shook slightly at the thought of Erza, Natsu and the Master. "So please, listen to me." She smiled at her and then placed her hand on Lucy's forehead. She was surprised by this and then felt herself get drowsy. She then felt her eyes get heavy and she started falling only to be caught by Mirajane. "Reedus! Bring Lucy to the hideout!" Mirajane asked the large painter as he nodded his head and painted a wagon before it magically appeared. "I'm counting on you!"

"Oui!" Reedus replied as he grabbed Lucy bridal style and entered the wagon. Mirajane watched as the wagon drove off before transforming herself into Lucy.

'I...I don't have any more power to fight...but I'll protect my friends at any cost!' A determined Mirajane thought as she looked back to the others as they started their battle against the ghost soldiers as 14 minutes remained.

"Uuuwaaah!" Elfman roared and slammed his beast arm down at the cannon. However, he couldn't even put a dent in it. "Looks like we won't be able to break it from the outside." Elfman told Gray as he nodded his head in agreement.

"Looks like we have to destroy it from the inside." He concluded and with that, both men entered inside the cannon through the opening. They crawled as fast as they could through the cannon and entered a room with a large sphere like machine in the middle of the large room. "T-That's..."

"Looks like a La'cryma that gathers magic power..." Happy replied.

"But I never seen one this big before..." Gray responded.

"Well, with a weapon like Jupiter it's no surprise it's so big." Elfman examined the La'cryma.

"You have a point there...yosh...all we have to do is break it and Jupiter will be stopped!" Gray grinned as he prepared himself to use his magic.

"I won't let you do that..." A voice said as the three of them looked down to see a man standing in front of the large sphere machine.

"Hm? Who's that?" Elfman asked.

"I won't let you...destroy this cannon." One of Phantom Lord's Element 4 members, Totomaru told them.

"You look weird..." Happy stated.

"Shut up, talking cat!"

* * *

><p>Meanwhile...<p>

The battle between Fairy Tail and the ghost soldiers was looking like a never ending fight. No matter how many of the soldiers they took down, more would appear.

Max used his sand magic to take down several of the soldiers. However, he lost concentration when one of the soldiers appeared behind him, ready to strike him down. Max saw the soldier a little bit too late and wasn't ready to defend himself. Luckily for him, Cana destroyed the ghost soldier, saving him. "Sorry, Cana." He apologized.

"Pull yourself together, Max! Protect the guild at any cost! They don't feel the sadness of losing comrades, or chagrin for their guild being destroyed! We won't let this scum take over our guild!" Cana shouted before returning to fight against the ghost soldiers as nine minutes remained before Jupiter is fired once more.

- FT -

"I don't know who you are, but get out of our way! We're gonna destroy that thing!" Gray told Totomaru as he chuckled.

"I said I won't let you, didn't I? You are nothing but fools."

"You bastard!" Elfman roared and changed his arm into beast mode and threw a punch at Totomaru. The Element 4 member sighed and avoided the punch by stepping to the side. "W-What the...?" Elfman exclaimed in shock as he looked at his arm.

"Fool..." Totomaru said and then kicked him in the face, sending him to the ground.

"Elfman! You bastard!" Gray clenched his fist and placed it on his opposite hand. "Ice Make...Lance!" He shot out multiple lances out toward Totomaru.

"Ice...huh? Too bad I'm the wrong opponent for you..." He said and raised his hand. Red fire came out of his hand and melted the ice lances before they could reach him.

"Fire...is that his element?" Gray whispered in surprise.

"That's right..." His opponent replied, being able to hear Gray's words. "My element is fire...and I won't let you destroy the cannon."

"Elfman! Gray! We don't have time for him! You have to destroy the La'cryma before Jupiter fires again!" Happy told them as he flew around the area.

"We know that Happy!" Gray responded. "Oi Elfman! You alright?"

"Y-Yeah...Gray be careful...I don't know why, but I felt like my movements just got slower..."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"When I went to go punch him, I felt my movements go slower." He explained.

"So then...it's like before..." Gray commented.

"Y-Yeah..."

"What the hell is going on?"

"I don't know...but I think it would be best to attack him together." Elfman suggested and Gray nodded in agreement.

"Yeah...let's do this quickly...time is running out..." Both of them then charged at Totomaru.

"It doesn't matter how many of you come at me...I won't let you destroy the La'cryma!" Totomaru shouted and then launched an orange flame this time. Both men jumped away from the flame, but not even they could escape the foul smell that came from the flames.

"Ugh...that fucking stinks!" Gray coughed as he pinched his nose.

"A man should not do something that stinks as bad as this!" Elfman cried at how bad the stench was.

"You guys! We're running out of time!" Happy told them. Suddenly the La'cryma began glowing. "AAAAHHHHH!"

"Shit!" Gray muffled as his eyes widened in shock. "Quick Elfman! We got to finish him off!" Five minutes remain.

"Yosh!" Elfman roared and charged forward. Gray got into his ice making stance to back up his bigger comrade.

"Ice Make...Bow!" Gray formed a bow made out of ice. "And...Arrows!" He continued as he created a large amount of arrows and began shooting them at Totomaru.

"Fool! Haven't you learned your lesson yet?" He raised his arm again and created flames to melt the arrows. When all the arrows were gone, he lowered his arm and stopped letting out his magic, only to be surprised by the sudden appearance of Elfman through the fire.

"Wraaah!" Elfman roared and threw his beast arm at Totomaru. Just like it happened previously, he was able to step to side and dodge it.

"Fool...do you think you can land a hit against me as long as his magic is in effect throughout the building." He revealed.

"I don't know who or what you are talking about...but you won't defeat me!" He was prepared to kick Elfman again, but Gray jumped and went into his Ice Make stance in the air just above him.

"Ice Make...Freeze!" Gray froze the area around Totomaru to stop him from moving anywhere.

"We got you!" Elfman roared and charged once more at the enemy.

"Oh?" Totomaru smirked and raised his arm to release the smelly orange flames from before. Elfman couldn't help but cover his nose from the foul stench and backed away from Totomaru. The Element 4 member looked down at the ice and released his red flames to melt it. He then looked in Gray's direction as he dropped back down to the floor.

"Damn...what the hell is going on with us?" He wondered. Ever since they were fighting against Phantom back at their guild, he felt his magic leaving his body and in return, his opponents seem to be getting stronger. He looked up to the La'Cryma to see it getting close to fire another blast.

"Gray! Elfman! We only got three minutes left!" Happy warned them as he started flying around in circles above the battlefield.

"Damn it..." Gray cursed and got into Ice Make stance. 'What should I do...we have to stop the cannon, but we can't do that as long as...wait..I just got an idea.' He glared at the Element 4 mage. "Ice Make...Sword!" He created a sword out of ice and then charged at his opponent.

"Fool...do you think that would work against me?" Gray only swung his sword at him. Totomaru dodged his swings as fluently as possible. After several more swings and misses, Totomaru decided to grab his sword with his hands. "I told you that wouldn't work..."

"Oh no! Only two minutes left!" Happy had an expression of horror on his face. The cannon on the outside began showing it's magic power as the others started to panic as soon as they saw the magic build up.

"Is this really what Fairy Tail has...w-what is this...?" He asked in shock as his hands began turning into ice.

"Elfman!" Gray shouted.

"Right!" He roared and charged at Totomaru.

"No! Head for the La'Cryma!"

"W-What?" Totomaru shouted in shock.

"Huh? R-Right!" He changed direction and headed toward the La'Cryma.

"You bastard!" He shouted at the man who was holding him in place because of his ice magic. "Do you think that this ice will stop me?"

"Of course not...but..it will give us enough time.." Gray grinned.

"You bastard!" Totamaru began to melt the ice. He then released a large amount of flames that burned Gray and pushed him away from the Element 4 member.

'Damn it...Elfman...do it!' Gray thought as he fell on his back.

"You bastard...I won't let you..." He didn't get to finish as his eyes widened as Elfman's beast arm connected with the La'Cryma and destroyed it. The explosion that occurred from the destruction of the La'Cryma extended all the way tot he cannon and started to explode. It then started to collapse as the debris fell down to the water with loud and large splashes.

- FT -

"They did it!" Fairy Tail cheered.

"Good job!" Cana smirked at the small, but very important victory for their side. She then looked over to the other members. "Okay! The cannon is destroyed! Now we have nothing to fear! Go eliminate the enemy!" She ordered and they all cheered before charging toward the ghost soldiers and continued their fight against them.

- FT -

"M-Master Jose...the cannon was destroyed from the inside..." One of the guild members informed him. Jose clenched his fists tightly in anger.

"I thought you said with your help, nothing will stop us from accomplishing our goals!" He spoke toward Alastor.

"Hey now...it's not my fault you have idiots for Guild members." He replied with a smirk.

"T-Those disgusting brats..."

- FT -

"I-Impossible..." Totomaru said in disbelief.

"You should never underestimate Fairy Tail...you asshole..." The Element 4 mage slowly turned his head and met Gray's fist as he punched him across the face. The blow pushed him into Elfman's monster arm as the one-two combo from Gray and Elfman was enough to knock out Totomaru.

"Damn...this was much harder than I thought it would be." Elfman said as Happy flew down to them.

"You guys did it!" He exclaimed.

"Yeah, but it sure was a pain." Gray sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. Suddenly, the building began to shake and slowly move. "W-What's going on?"

- FT -

On the outside, the building stood up on it's legs and began to move into a standing position.

"Huh?"

"W-What's going on?"

"I-It stood up!"

"What are they planning this time?"

Everyone watched in horror as the building slowly began transforming itself to what looked like a giant robot looking transformer thing. "W-What is that...?" Cana asked as she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"Super Mage Giant Phantom MK. II!" Jose announced as most of the members of Fairy Tail had looks of worry and horror as they stared at the giant. The giant then suddenly took a step forward and headed toward the others as they started to panic.

"Ahhh! It's coming this way!"

"What do we do?"

"It's going to trample us and the guild!"

"Everyone calm down!" Cana shouted. "Concentrate on the enemy in front of us! Gray and Elfman are sure to stop that giant!"

"Right!"

- FT -

"W-What the hell was that?" Gray asked as he rubbed his head to soothe the headache he had.

"Something must have happened to the building." Elfman gave a response as he pulled Happy's head out of debris.

"Ah! Thank you!" He sighed in happiness as he was free.

"Hey Happy, you think you could go check out the situation outside?" Gray asked and the blue flying cat nodded his head and then grew his wings. He flew out of the building and to the outside to see what was happening.

- FT -

"Huh? W-What is that thing doing?" Max asked as he saw the hand of the giant begin to move and write something in front of it. Cana's eyes widened in shock.

"T-That...that's a magic seal! That giant thing is a mage!"

"EEEEEEHHHHHHH?"

When Happy saw the giant robot that was once the walking guild they were in, he became so shocked that he started sweating bullets.

Mirajane gasped as she recognized the magic seal that the giant was creating. "Oh no! That's the Abyss Break Seal! That's one of the forbidden spells!"

"Crap! A huge seal like that could wipe out everything all the way to Caldia Cathedral!" Loke cursed as he took out a ghost soldier that was coming at him.

Happy quickly flew back inside to tell Gray and Elfman as he reached them as quickly as he could. "You guys! The building turned into a giant and it's casting a spell!"

"Nani?" They both shouted in shock.

"They said that it could wipe out everything all the way to the Caldia Cathedral!" He continued.

"That's half the town!" Gray shouted.

"What the hell is Phantom thinking?" Elfman wondered, feeling angry as he clenched his fists tightly.

"In any case, we have to stop it!" Gray told them. "We should split up and find the source of whatever is controlling that thing!" Elfman and Happy nodded in agreement of his plan and the three set off to find the source.

"Damn it! What are we going to do?"

- FT -

"We just have to believe in Gray and Elfman!"

"Hey Mira..." Cana leaned her back to the wall of the guild as she talked to Mirajane from inside the building through a window. "How long until this spell is activated?"

"Probably about ten minutes." Levy answered as she entered the room from below. "A spell like that needs at least that much time to complete."

"Yeah..." Mirajane nodded her head in agreement. "I wonder if there is a way to destroy the power source."

"The guys on the inside must be thinking the same thing." Cana said.

"I know Gray went, but who else did?" Mirajane asked.

"Elfman and Happy went in too." At this news, Mirajane's eyes widened.

"E-Elfman! W-What is he doing inside that thing?"

"Don't be so surprised...Elfman is..."

"He can't! Elfman can't fight! You should know that too, Cana!"

"He can fight! He took part in the fighting before..."

"It's one thing to go up against a soldier, but if he winds up against the leaders the way he is right now then he could..."

"Hey Mira...I know you and Elfman were both terribly hurt, but Elfman is trying hard to keep moving forward." Mirajane couldn't say anything. She looked down to the floor and started to think about everything Cana told her. It was then that she remembered what Natsu told her as well.

_"Then don't blame yourself either!" He yelled softly. Mirajane gasped at his words. "Mira-chan...stop telling me and Elfman to not blame ourselves for Lisanna's death! It wasn't your fault!"_

_"But..." Mirajane tried to argue._

_"No buts! I'll stop blaming myself for Lisanna's death and so should you...so please...don't blame yourself..."_

"Mira..." Levy whispered as she stared at Mirajane, who was in disguise as Lucy.

Mirajane clenched her fists tightly as she felt a new determination flow through her body. 'Elfman...I too should be...' With a nod of the head, Mirajane opened the door, surprising Cana and walked toward the battlefield.

"M-Mira-san!"

"Stay back! It's dangerous here!"

"Get back Mira-chan!"

However, she ignored them and stood in front of the giant and spread her arms out. "I'm the one you're after, right? Stop attacking the Guild right now!" She shouted as Jose looked down at her. 'This should buy us a little bit of time...'

"Master that's..." A member Phantom told Jose as he saw Mirajane, who was transformed as Lucy through his binoculars.

"Disappear! You imposter!" He spoke through the microphone as Mirajane was in shock that it didn't work.

'No way...'

"I knew right from the start that Lucy wasn't here. There's no way that the person who was targeted would be sent to the front lines." He continued.

"Damn!" Cana cursed at the failure of the idea.

Mirajane couldn't believe it. She felt tears sting her eyes as she transformed back to her usual self. 'I'm...so useless...' She cried as the giant continued to write the spell.

- FT -

"Uooooooogh! I will protect Fairy Tail even if it costs me my life!" Elfman roared as he ran down a hallway. "But seriously, what a crazy room." He then stopped when he felt someone's presence behind him and turned around. "Huh?" He watched as someone rose from the ground.

"Salut!" The man spoke as he swayed from side to side.

"Who the hell are you?"

- FT -

"Don't worry Mira..." Cana tried to comfort the crying white haired former so called demon.

"But Elfman can't fight..." She sobbed as tears continued to fall from her eyes. Cana only frowned at her, but she had to forget about her for the moment as she looked back at the giant.

"Damn...the magic seal is almost complete..."

"You want to leave the guild behind?" Cana asked.

"Ah...no..."

"Then believe in the guys inside that they will get the job done!" She shouted and the members of Fairy Tail nodded and continued to fight against the ghost soldiers.

'Elfman...you're in no state to fight against someone this strong...' Mirajane thought as she pressed her hand to her chest. The tears that were falling stopped as she knew she had to be strong for everyone else. She couldn't help but have one person on her mind that she knew could save them. 'Natsu...please wake up...'

* * *

><p>"<em>Gah!" Natsu screamed in pain as he felt get punched once more in the stomach by his darker self.<em>

"_Hahaha! Is this really all you got? What happened to all that magic power you showed earlier?" Anti-Natsu yelled as he kicked him. "Come on, where is that power?"_

_Natsu groaned as he slid to a stop after getting hit by his leg. He glared at his darker self. He wiped the side of his mouth and ignited his fists into flames. "How about this?" He roared and tried attacking him, but he simply dodged it._

"_That's not it, you asshole!" Anti-Natsu yelled and punched Natsu in the face, sending him flying._

"_Gah!" Natsu felt himself spitting out blood. He crashed onto the dark floor. 'Damn it...' He slowly lifted his head and his eyes widened as he saw Erza in the spot that Anti-Natsu used to be on. "E-Erza!"_

"_Natsu..." She said and tried to take a step forward, but as soon as she did, Anti-Natsu appeared behind her and then slit her throat. Natsu's eyes widened in horror as he watched Erza fall the floor, dead. The image of seeing his comrade and close friend die in front of him again hurt Natsu so bad that he didn't even noticed that his flames were those of before when he saw Lucy die._

"_ERZA! YOU BASTARD!" Natsu roared with anger as he charged at his darker self._

"_Yes, that is the power! Show me your strength, asshole!"_

* * *

><p>"Kyaahhhh" Mirajane screamed as the giant's free hand grabbed her and started squeezing her by his fingers.<p>

"Mira!"

"Mira-chan!"

"Attempting to deceive us...I don't think I like you, girl. I'll just smash you to pieces!" Jose said.

"Miraaaaaaa!" Cana screamed as she destroyed a ghost solider that grabbed her from behind. "Damn it! Gray, Elfman, Happy! Stop that giant!"

- FT -

"My name is Sol. But you can call me, Monsieur Sol." Sol greeted as Elfman took off his coat.

"Great timing! You can tell me how to stop this giant!" He then raised his arm and transformed into his beast form. "Beast Arm: Kokugyuu!"

"Oh? Do you think by transforming only your right arm that you can defeat me?" Sol said as he moved side to side. "It seems the rumors are accurate."

"Huh? What rumors?"

"I know all about you...no...I know more than that. My head contains details pertaining to all the mages of Fairy Tail."

"Dammit! Don't you ever stop talking?" Elfman yelled and threw a punch at him, but he jumped up and dodged the punch.

"I do believe you have a big sister, right?" He said while in midair. Elfman's eyes widened at that, but before he could say anything, Sol used an attack.

"Sable Dance!" A small sandstorm was created around Elfman as he took damage from it.

"Ugh..." He groaned and tried to locate his opponent. "Where did he...?" His question was answered when Sol spun around multiple time sin the air before kicking the ground and sending rocks at him.

"Roche Concerto!" He called out his attack as Elfman was pounded by many rocks. Similar to what happened with Totomaru, Sol's magic power was increasing, while Elfman felt his decrease.

'Damn it...not this again...' He thought in annoyance as he did a back flip and landed on his feet.

"If I recall correctly..." Sol started, "...a while back, you underwent a full-body takeover, but it went wrong and you ran wild...your darling little sister gave her life to stop you from going on a rampage, isn't that right? Not only that, but the trauma of it resulted in you from never using the Full-body takeover ever since." Elfman glared at him and then transformed his arm again, but this time to the Testugyuu. He threw a punch with his new arm, but Sol slipped into the earth to dodge and then reappeared from behind Elfman. He turned his head and before he knew it, the Element 4 member began spinning in a circular motion around his arm, gripping it tightly with his body like a snake.

"W-Wha...?"

"Salut!"

"You disgusting freak!" Elfman cursed and tried to remove him from his arm, however it was not working no matter how hard he pulled.

"Non, non, non! That is nonsense with three 'nons'!"

"Why don't you get the hell off me you Moncher Sol!"

"Actually, it's Monsieur."

"Like I care!" Elfman shouted as he struggled to get his opponent off of him. Sol spun around again and kicked Elfman across the face and followed it up by another kick that sent the bigger man to the floor.

"Have we reached the finale yet?"

'Damn this guy...' Elfman wiped the blood that was dripping from the corner of his mouth before standing up. 'Looks like I have no choice but to use that...' He clenched his fists and stored his magic power and it caused his arms to start transforming again. However, the image of his dead younger sister Lisanna appeared in his head, causing him to hesitate. 'Lisanna...' A sudden surge of pain came from his right arm that caused him to buckle and drop down to one knee.

"Hmm! You should avoid attempting that which you cannot! It would appear your magic has dropped drastically from just trying to use that!" Sol charged at Elfman. "Viola!" He shouted his attack in a french accent and kicked him in the stomach. Elfman spat out blood as Sol started motioning for his next attack. "As a gentleman, I feel like I should end this with my most powerful attack." He stated and then created a large fist made out of plaster and launched it at the Strauss sibling. "Platre Sonata!"

"Gaaahhh!" Elfman groaned in pain as he crashed into the wall and breaking it. The sunlight shone through the opening as his head slightly hung from the edge.

"This is the power of the Element Four!" Sol told him.

'Damn...how is he so strong...' Elfman wondered as he started to open his eyes. When he did, his eyes widened at what he saw happening just across from where he was laying down. "W-What the...?"

"E-Elfman..." Mirajane winced in pain as she saw her younger brother. She felt the hand that had her captive give another squeeze making her let out a scream in pain.

"Nee-chan!" Elfman turned around and lifted himself up with his arms at the sight of his sister, disregarding the intense pain he was feeling throughout his body.

"Oh...would you look at that...isn't that your older sister...the same woman who happens to be the famous Mirajane-sama, once feared as the 'Demon'? My, my...it would seem her powers have dwindled as well...how unfortunate." Sol spoke as he touched his monocle. "I am afraid she is currently being punished for deceiving us. I'm pretty sure she'll be crushed any moment now..." He chuckled and swayed back and forth.

"E-Elfman...r-run..." Mirajane told him. Despite her predicament, she only cared about his safety.

"W-What the hell is this? Let her go!" He roared. Sol jumped right on top of him and pushed his face back down to the ground.

"Stop it!" She screamed. "It doesn't matter what happens to me, just leave Elfman alone!"

"Nononon! That's three Nons! I wonder if you'll have to go through it again? Such a pity...first losing your younger sister and now your older sister right in front of your eyes!"

"Elfman! Please run!"

"W-Why...?" Elfman muttered, as he felt angry. "I swore that I'd never see your tears ever again, Nee-chan...so why are you crying?" He roared, trying to get himself up.

"E-Elfman..."

"WHO WAS IT THAT MADE YOU CRY?" He roared and pushed himself up with so much force that he knocked Sol off of him. Mirajane's eyes widened as she watched Elfman start to go on a rampage and begin to transform his body the same way that happened before.

"No! Elfman! Don't do it!" She screamed as the tears started to fall rapidly. "You can only use your right arm!"

"She's right you know." Sol agreed with a smirk.

"Lisanna died because I was too weak..." Elfman said while storing his magic.

"That's not true!" Mirajane tried to reason with her younger sibling.

"I...I never want to feel that way again!" He shouted as tears stung his eyes. He saw his sister scream in pain again and it only made him go ballistic. "I want to become strong, strong so that I could protect Nee-chan! I want to protect Nee-chan! I...I...I will...

_...protect her..._

Elfman's eyes widened and both Mirajane and Sol looked at Elfman in confusion as the transformation he was trying to do stopped. "E-Elfman..." Mirajane whispered as she stared at her younger brother. Elfman stared at the floor as a certain voice stopped him from going berserk.

"N-Natsu..."

_Flashback_

"_Yo Elfman!" The male Strauss sibling turned around as he saw Natsu waving his hand and walking toward him, his stupid grin on his face._

"_What are you doing here, Natsu?" He asked._

"_Oh you know...just walking around." He answered._

"_Really?" He asked a little confused. "Where's Happy?"_

"_Don't know...he said something about Lucy having some fish or something for him..." Natsu answered._

"_Oh..."_

"_So, what are you up to?" He asked as he saw the bags in his arm._

"_Oh...Nee-chan asked me to go get some things we were missing at home." He answered. "I'm just heading back home."_

"_I see...mind if I join you?"_

"_Huh? Sure...but why?"_

"_What? I can't walk and talk with an old friend?"_

"_Well...I suppose not..." _

"_Great! Let's get going!" _

"_Yeah..." Elfman was a little confused by Natsu's actions. Heck, he would be lying if he said that he didn't find the Dragonslayer weird. However, there was just something even weirder about him ever since he returned. He wasn't sure what it was, but he didn't pay much attention to it. _

"_So...what's been happening the past two years?" Natsu asked, trying to start a conversation._

"_Huh? Oh...nothing much, same old, same old...I guess." Elfman wasn't sure how to answer his question. After all, two years ago was when Lisanna died. He felt like shit because he blamed himself for her death. He could still see the image of his older sister crying on her bed on countless nights. He blamed himself for her tears. He didn't want to see his sister like that ever again. That sad, tearful face was something he hated seeing. He swore he would never see her face like that again. _

_Then Natsu suddenly disappeared. He wasn't sure why he left, but that very same night, he saw a sad and distant look on his older sister's face. He wondered why did she have that look? He wanted to ask, but something was stopping him from doing so. _

_Then, he came back. Suddenly, the sad and distant look she had was gone and she was as cheerful as he ever seen her for the past two years. Lately, he would see herself beaming with happiness whenever she saw Natsu at the guild. He was confused by this sudden change in her mood, but he can't say he wasn't happy for his older sister. He looked at Natsu and wondered why his return made his sister feel happier. He wondered if he should as his older sister, but again something was stopping him. He couldn't put his finger on it._

"_I see...well that's good..." He replied with a wide grin as he placed his hands behind his head._

"_Yeah..." Elfman nodded. "Hey Natsu..."_

"_Hmm? What is it?"_

"_I wanted to ask you something...something that has been bothering me for a while..."_

"_Shoot!"_

"_Did something happen between you and Nee-chan?" _

"_Huh? Nothing really...why?"_

"_Well, lately she has been happier than usual..."_

"_Really? Isn't she the same as before I left?"_

"_No...this is different..."_

"_Huh? What do you mean?"_

_Elfman stopped walking and stared at the ground. Natsu stopped as well, but a couple of steps in front of him. "I can't really explain it but...when Lisanna died..." Elfman clutched the bags tightly at the memory of his younger sister. He took a deep breath before continuing. "...when Lisanna died, Nee-chan wasn't the same. Whenever I saw her at home, she had this painful look on her face. Whenever I saw her like that, I...it made me angry. Angry at myself. I killed my own sister and yet not only was it my fault, but I also made Nee-chan sad. I made Nee-chan cry. What kind of man am I to do such a thing?" He shouted in anger. The pedestrians passing by looked over at the two Fairy Tail mages in wonder. Natsu didn't say anything because he felt like there was something more he was about to say, so he let him continue. "Then...when you were gone for the past two years...Nee-chan's expression became worse..."_

"_W-What...?" Natsu said, shocked by what he just told him._

"_It sounds strange...but I know what I saw. Nee-chan wasn't the same when both you and Lisanna were gone. I kind of felt angry at you for leaving without even telling us...when you returned...there was a part of me that want to punch you back to wherever the hell you ran off to...but...when I saw Nee-chan hug you like that...she changed. Now I don't see that look on her face anymore. I mean...I know she is still grieving over Lisanna's death...just like I am..but she has been more happier than usual...I don't understand why...but I guess I kind of wanted to thank you..."_

_Natsu stared at him as Elfman did the same. He then chuckled. "You know...this doesn't sound like you at all...whatever happened to all that manliness talk from earlier?"_

"_Shut up! Even a man has to share his feelings!" Elfman shouted, getting pissed at his response._

"_Calm down...I don't know if it was because of me that Mira changed...but there was something I did tell her a couple of days ago..."_

"_Huh? What was it?"_

"_It was to stop blaming herself for Lisanna's death."_

"_W-What?" Elfman's mouth gaped open and eyes widened in shock._

"_I talked to her in front of Lisanna's grave. I told her that I blamed myself for her death. I should have been there to protect her. I told her that and she told me to not blame myself because it was her fault. I got angry that she said that. I told her to not blame herself either. I told her that I won't blame myself anymore as long as she doesn't blame herself."_

"_Natsu...you..." Elfman muttered in shock._

"_There was also something else. I also told her that you wouldn't blame yourself for her her death either."_

"_W-What?" His eyes widened even farther._

"_Look...I know what happened and to be honest...I should have talked to you about this. I don't know personally what you are going through. However, I don't know whether this would help you or not, but stop blaming yourself for her death. I promise you that both me and Mira will stop as well." He grinned._

"_Natsu...but..."_

"_I know it won't be easy, but I can guarantee you that Mira will be even happier if you do." Natsu's grin widened as Elfman was shocked by his words._

"_A-Alright...I'll try and do it...but...what if something happens to Nee-chan...I mean...what if I'm not strong enough to protect her...and then something like that happens again..."_

"_Then I'll protect her as well..." Elfman made a noise in surprise. "Something like that won't happen again because you and I will protect her as well as every one of our friends...right?"_

"_Y-Yeah..."_

_End of Flashback_

Elfman looked down at his hands. Natsu's words played in his head as he turned his head to look at his older sister. She winced a bit as the hand that held her captive squeezed her again. He clenched his fists and looked at Sol. He wanted to save his sister, but the first thing he needed to do was defeat this guy, otherwise he wouldn't be able to help her. He could feel something inside of him that he never felt before. It was something he couldn't describe, but he did decide to go with.

"Aaaaaaahhhhhhh!" He roared as he felt his magic course throughout his body. Unlike before, it was different. Before he had no control over what was happening, but now it was like a new sensation. Something that he was able to control. Next thing that Sol and Mirajane knew, Elfman transformed his entire body to that of a beast.

"H-Hold on a minute...t-this is...this is...Full-Body takeover Beast Soul?" Sol shouted in fear as sweat rolled down his face.

"Elfman...no!" Mirajane cried again as she feared that her younger brother lost control.

"It's alright...Nee-chan..." She gasped as she heard his voice and looked at him. Her eyes widened when she saw his eyes. He was in control. Tears started to fall again, but they weren't that of sadness, but both relief and happiness. "...I'll save you..." He told her and then look back at Sol.

"Nononon! That's three nons! Just wait a minute! I..." Before he could say anything else, Elfman charged at Sol and delivered a crushing blow that knocked Sol out unconscious after the first hit. He looked down at Sol, who's leg twitched and let out a sigh. He won. He then walked over to the hole and jumped over to the arm that held his sister. He looked down at her and smiled before opening the giant's hand and catching Mirajane before she fell. He pulled her into a hug.

"I'm sorry Nee-chan..." He apologized.

"What are you apologizing for?" Mirajane asked, smiling into the embrace.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry for making you sad for the past two years about Lisanna's death. I saw how sad you looked almost every night."

"Elfman...you..."

"I'm sorry for eavesdropping on you, but I heard you cry and saw how sad you looked that I just wished I could have do something to help you, but I just couldn't."

"It's okay Elfman..."

"Yeah...I know..." He said and let go of her. He slowly turned back to his normal self and smiled at her. "I also wanted to tell you that Natsu told me about how he blamed himself and that he promised you that he'll stop blaming himself as long as you stop as well." Mirajane slightly gasped. "It was because of Natsu that I was able to stop from turning back into that monster. It was because I remembered our conversation that I was able to control myself. I just want you to know that I am also going to stop blaming myself for her death. So...I want you to do the same as well. Let's look forward to the future instead of looking back at the past." He grinned.

Mirajane looked at him with a warm smile. One that Elfman hadn't seen in a long time. She walked toward him and placed her head on his chest. He could feel some of tears touching him, but he knew she was crying tears of joy so he didn't mind them. He made himself a mental note to thank Natsu for bringing back his sister's smile as well as coming back to the guild.

Mirajane couldn't help the tears of joy that were falling from her eyes. She didn't know how long it was since she felt this happy. She was just so happy that her younger brother was no longer blaming himself for Lisanna's death. She was happy that Elfman didn't lose control when he transformed in his full body beast take over. She also was happy that Natsu was the one who helped Elfman realize that he shouldn't blame himself for what happened. He helped her realize that it wasn't her fault as well. She had to thank him for everything he did for her and Elfman. However, there was something else she had and her brother had to do before that. Defeat Phantom.

She pulled away and looked up at her brother. Her eyes widened when she saw something. "W-What's wrong, Nee-chan?" Elfman asked as he turned around to look at what she was looking at.

"The speed at which he's drawing the seal...it became slower."

"Eh? Seriously?"

"Yeah...but...I wonder why?" Mirajane thought about it. 'The Four-Elemental Forbidden Spell...Abyss Break...four elements...fire...water...wind...earth...' It then hit her. "Of course...Elfman...how many of the Element Four are remaining?"

"Huh? Ah...let's see...I think they're are two of them left." He answered.

"I see...it makes sense now...when you defeated that guy, the giant's movements became slower."

"What?"

"In other words, the giant's power source is the four elements! If we defeat all of the Element Four, we can stop the giant!"

"Really?"

"Quickly! They must be somewhere inside this giant!" Mirajane told her brother.

"Yeah!"

- FT -

"Phew...it looks like Mira is okay." Cana sighed in relief as she looked up to see both Strauss siblings head back inside the giant. A sudden pain in her head made her drop to a knee and clutch her head.

"Cana!" Macao shouted, seeing her drop to a knee.

"Don't worry about me! The most important thing is the enemies in front of us! We have to protect Fairy Tail!" She yelled back and then stood up to fight again.

"R-Right..." He said and then smirked. 'Damn...she's pushing herself too hard...but honestly...I wonder why it is that every woman in our guild are so damn strong.'

"Looks like another on of your idiots were defeated." Alastor chuckled in amusement.

"Shut up...I blame you for this..." Jose said.

"Oh and why is that? I told you before didn't I...my territorial magic gives them strength, but it's how they use this power boost...from what I could tell...they were idiots..."

"You bastard..."

* * *

><p><em>Natsu's eyes widened as he watch his Anti form slowly kill each member of the Strauss family. He tried to save them, but no matter how hard he ran toward them, he was always too late. Seeing his friends get killed one by one again was so painful for him. He promised himself that he wouldn't let it happen again, but here it was happening again! The worse part of it was the fact that there person who was killing them was himself. Okay, maybe his darker side, but to him it was like he was killing them himself. He needed more power. He needed to get stronger.<em>

"_Damn you!" He shouted and charged at his darker half, only to get kicked in the gut once more. _

"_What the hell you fucking idiot?" The Anti-Natsu yelled. "Where is that power you showed a while back? What are you afraid of? Use that power! Let me see that power!" He then attacked Natsu again and punched him across the face. "Do you want me to kill another one of your friends? If that is what you want then I'll be more than happy to do it!"_

"_Shut up! Don't you dare touch my friends!" Natsu stood up and charged at Anti-Natsu again, only leading to the same result. A kick to the stomach and then a high kick to the face. He was slammed to the ground hard and struggled to get back up._

"_Looks like you still don't get it...do you?" Anti-Natsu told him as he walked toward him. "Let me see that power!" He roared and grabbed Natsu by his vest. He delivered a swift kick to the stomach, making him spit out blood. "How much longer do you want to suffer? How much longer do you want to see your friends get killed right in front of you?"_

"_I...I don't want to see...any of them get hurt!" He yelled._

"_Then stop being a pussy and release your true power!" He yelled at him and then punched him, sending him to the floor. He watched as Natsu struggled to get up. "This is pathetic...I guess I have no choice. You brought this upon yourself asshole." He then disappeared as Natsu looked around for him._

"_Damn it...where is he?" _

"_Natsu..." Salamander's eyes widened as he turned his head to see Gray, looking at him. _

"_Gray..."_

"_What the hell man? Are you this weak? Seriously...I thought you would be stronger than this. What kind of rival are you that I could kick your ass?"_

"_Damn it...shut up Gray!" He growled. _

"_Yeah Natsu-san..." Natsu gasped again as he saw Wendy to his right._

"_W-Wendy..."_

"_I believed in you Natsu-san...why won't you help us? Why are you this weak?"_

"_Wendy...I..."_

"_This is pathetic...I couldn't believe I lost to some one like you." Laxus appeared behind him. _

"_Stop it..."_

"_Natsu...why are you so weak...I thought you were my best friend...I thought best friends help each other..." Happy appeared._

"_No...please stop it..."_

_Suddenly, each and every member of the guild and everyone who he befriended started appearing. They were telling him at how much of a failure he was, how weak he was and how they hated and other things that made Natsu's chest hurt like his heart was about to explode._

"_Please...no...I...I wanted to protect all of you! I want to protect you...please...stop this!"_

* * *

><p>"What the hell? Since when did it start raining?" Gray wondered as he felt rain drop down from the sky and onto him. "So weird...oh well...that doesn't matter right now...I have to stop the Abyss Break Spell!"<p>

"Drip, drip, drip..." Gray turned his head to see a woman, holding an umbrella walk toward him.

"Huh? Who's that?"

"I am Juvia, the woman of rain as well as a member of the Element Four...drip, drip, drip..."

"Element four...huh?"

"To think you are able to defeat two of the four elements. However, Juvia and Aria shouldn't be taken lightly." She told him. Gray glared at her.

"Sorry, but I don't care if you are a woman or a child...I won't go easy on anyone who hurts any of my friends!" He told her.

Juvia stared at Gray. A blush suddenly appeared on her face. Then she turned around and started walking away. "Y-Yes...I have lost this battle...farewell."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What the hell is with that?" Gray shouted as his jaw dropped and eyes popped out of his head in shock.

'Ah...Juvia are you somehow afflicted...this pitter patter in your chest...'

"Hold up woman! Stop this giant at once!" Gray yelled at her as he ran toward her.

'Must make him mine...Juvia, there is no turning back!' She turned around and raised her arm and pointed it at Gray. "Water lock!" She shouted as the ice mage was suddenly engulfed into a ball of water. Gray struggled to breathe and he then winced in pain as the wound he had opened up and blood start leaking out. When Juvia saw this, she started to panic. "Ahh! How could I wound him so? W-What action should I take? I must release him at once!" She muttered to herself. While she contemplate don what she should do, Gray started to freeze the water ball and then shattered it when it was turned to ice. Juvia was surprised that her water lock was broken. He blush only grew more red. 'No way...he froze it and then shattered it apart...Juvia was so sure that no one could break it...he and I...is this some kind of fate?'

"Damn...you got me good..." Gray muttered as he had his hand on his open wound. Juvia let out a gasp as Gray started taking off his shirt.

'W-Why is he taking off his shirt? M-M-M-My heart...my heart is not prepared for this!' Juvia started to panic again as her face became warmer and warmer due to her blush. Gray removed his shirt and then put his hands in his ice make stance.

"Ice Make: Lance!' He shouted and pointed his hands in front of him to launch lances made of ice at her. However, the lances only went through the water woman as she blushed at the contact. "N-No way..."

"My body is made of the rain...drip, drip..." She told him, still blushing.

"Water!"

'Just now...he assaulted me...yes...this man is an enemy! Juvia must be strong! This is war!' She thought to herself as she squirmed around like a high school girl in love. "Farewell, sweet flower of love!" She shouted and shot a wave of water at the ice mage. "Water Slicer!"

"What the hell is this woman saying?" Gray didn't understand the feelings of a woman as the attack hit him. Due to Alastor's territorial magic, Juvia's attack was stronger than expected and it caused Gray to be pushed back, despite his guard. He dropped to one knee and glared at Juvia. "Ice Make: Battle Axe!" He threw an axe made of ice at her, but it only sliced through her as she was amazed by his determination.

"You can't defeat Juvia, it is impossible. There is still time for you to be saved." Juvia told him. "I request that you bring me Lucy. If you do then I can talk tot he Master to see if he can withdraw."

"Shut up and quit screwing around!" He yelled at her, which made her cringe slightly. "Both sides have come too far to stop now! Lucy's our nakama! I won't hand her over even if I die!" Juvia suddenly dropped her umbrella which surprised Gray. He looked at her and saw her shocked expression and tilted his head to the side in confusion.

'Even if I die...even if I die...even if I die...love...love...love...love...a rival in love...' Juvia concluded from what he just said and put her hands on her cheeks as they got hotter and hotter with each passing second. She moved around weirdly, in Gray's point of view, but then something happened that not even Gray knew how she was able to do it. She became so angry that she looked like she was boiling as steam came out of her body. "Aaaargghhh!"

"What the hell?"

"JUVIA CANNOT FORGIVE THIS! JUVIA CANNOT FORGIVE LUCY!" She shouted in anger as some of the water fell on top of Gray. His skin burned at the contact of the water and quickly went to wipe it away.

"Damn...boiling water? It's so hot...and why is she so mad at Lucy for?" He wondered.

"Zella!" She shouted as she transformed herself into a water blast.

"Damn it..." Gray's eyes widened as he saw her coming at him. "Ice Ma-" He couldn't finish his spell as he quickly dodged her attack, but the heat of the water caused some burns on his skin. "So fast! My Ice Make magic can't keep up!" He dodged another attack and continued to do so as she came at him time after time. "If I don't make some time then..." He said and then ran toward a window before jumping in and falling down to the ground. "Ice Make: Shield!" He managed to create his ice in time, but it didn't do anything as her boiling water only melted the ice shield. "No way..."

"My jealousy is boiling!"

"What the hell is that got to do with anything?" He sweat dropped and yelled. Gray was then hit straight in the chest as the boiling water burned his skin. "So hot..." Then, a sudden burst of boiling water shot at him as he had to hold his breath or the water would enter his lungs and burn those as well. He was sent back up to the outside as he gritted his teeth in anger. "Damn it...I only need to freeze something..." He moved himself around and then punched the large stream of water. "Freeze!" He shouted and put every ounce of his magic into freezing the water. When the water started to freeze, he grinned in success as the stream slammed him to the ground, but he was able to freeze the water and thus freeze Juvia as well.

"No way...my boiling water...is getting frozen...but how?"

"Damn...I cannot believe I owe Natsu some thing. This temperature is nothing compared to the heat that fire breath was emitting." He grinned.

"And not only that..." She blushed when he felt Gray squeeze her breast.

"GAH!" He realized what he just did and pulled away immediately. In the act of doing so, he unfroze her, which surprised her. "I'm sorry! It wasn't...I mean..."

'He released me for the ice...why? He's...so kind...' She looked up at him with a blush and tears of joy threatening to fall.

"D-Do over..." He told her.

"No...I...I can't hurt you..." She told him.

"Huh? You can't hurt me?" He asked confused.

"I'm stronger than Lucy. I can protect you." She told him, not daring to look at him.

"Huh? Protect me? Why would you even do such a thing?" He asked.

"It's because...I...I lo...lo..." She stuttered as she tried to say the words.

"Why is the rain coming down harder all of a sudden?" Gray asked.

"Aaaaahhh! This is so frustrating!" Juvia screamed as her emotions were making the rain come down harder.

"Jeez...this rain is so depressing..." Juvia's eyes widened in horror.

'H-He's just like all the rest...' Juvia clenched her fists at the realization. "Aaaaarrrrgggghhh! Who needs love?" She roared as she shot another stream of boiling hot water at Gray.

"Bring it!" Gray shouted, thinking he could just freeze the water again. However, the temperature of the water was hotter than before. 'How is it hotter?' He wondered as his skin burned.

'He is just like the rest...I don't need love...I am one of the element four...I am a Phantom mage!' Juvia decided as she was about to strike Gray again. "Zella!"

"I won't lose..." Gray got into position. "...to someone like Phantom!" He yelled and put his arm in front of the attack and started freezing it. "Nuaaarrrrgghhhhh!" He roared and put more of his magic into freezing her attack again. Juvia's eyes widened as he was able to freeze her boiling water. Not only that, but she looked up to see him freezing the rain as well. Her heart started to beat faster.

"Ice Geyser!" He shouted and created a large geyser made of ice that struck Juvia, making her calm down.

"I...I lost?" She stated as she looked up to the now clear blue sky that she longed for to see.

"How do you feel? Have you cooled off?" Gray asked as he was standing above her.

"The sky...this is the clear blue sky?" She stated as Gary looked up as well.

"Well, what do you know...it stopped raining." He stated.

"It's so beautiful..."

"So..." Gray spoke to her. "Do you want to continue?" He smirked at her. Her eyes suddenly became hears before she screamed and then fainted. "Oi! Are you okay?" Gray asked, but she was able to hear her as she was no longer conscious.

"Just what is going?"

"It's been more than ten minutes...shouldn't the Abyss Break spell be cast already?"

"Urgh...this waiting is killing me?"

"Oh and these ghost things aren't?"

"Shut up!"

"Hey, isn't the giant moving slower than before?"

"Gray and the others must be the cause of that!" Cana stated. "Let's just hope they succeed!"

"Another one is down...just who do you allow in your guild anyway?"

"Shut up..." Jose growled at the comment made by Alastor.

"Oh well, there is still one more of those element people right? I also hear he is the strongest of them all...so, we'll wait and see what happens."

"Hmph, Aria won't lose to the likes of them."

"Didn't you say that about the others?"

"Shut up!"

"Gray!" The ice mage turned his head to see Elfman and Mirajane running toward him.

"Elfman! And...Mira-san? W-What are you doing here?" He asked confused.

"That's not important. Is this one of the Element Four? She asked looking at Juvia.

"Yeah..."

"That's three down and only one to go..." Elfman stated.

"Yeah...if we defeat him then we can stop the Abyss Break." Mirajane added.

"Really?" They both nodded.

"However, the next Element Four is Aria of the wind and he is the strongest of them all." Mirajane said.

"It doesn't matter. We'll kick anyone's ass that dares to hurt our friends." Gray stated as the Strauss siblings nodded their heads in agreement. "But wait a minute...if we are here...then that means that...oh crap..."

"You don't think..." Elfman added, knowing what Gray was talking about. They looked at each other.

"CRAP! WE GOT TO HURRY!" They both yelled.

- FT -

"G-G-ray...E-E-Elfman...N-N-Natsu...HELP ME!" Happy shouted as he stood in front of Aria of the wind.

"So...my opponent is this cat...SO SORROWFUL!" Aria cried.

"Why are you crying?" Happy shouted and sweat dropped.

"It would be so sad to defeat a poor defenseless...purple colored cat!"

"I'm blue! Somebody help me!" Happy cried out.

"It's too late for you, purple cat!" Aria cried and was prepared to attack Happy and defeat him.

"I'M BLUE! AAAAAAHHHHH!" Happy cried as he prepared himself for the worse. However, it never came as someone appeared and pushed Aria back and away from Happy. Happy opened his eyes to find out why no attack hit him and his eyes widened from joy. "ERZA!"

Erza glared at Aria as he did the same through the bandages that covered his eyes. "You...you are the one who did that to the Master..."

"Yes...that is correct...but to see you standing in front of me is a sad surprise...I thought the Jupiter cannon dealt enough damage to you that you wouldn't stand for a while..." He said as Erza continued to glare at him.

"Are you sure you are okay, Erza?" Happy asked, worried.

"Don't worry, Happy...I'll defeat him..." She told him and looked at him with a smile. He gave her a nod.

"So sorrowful...but to bad I will end your life right here and now!" He said. "Since I am facing the mighty Erza, I should go all out." Erza watched as he took off his bandages. "Now then, let us begin our sorrowful fight that will end with your life being taken away."

- FT -

"Hey! The magic circle is shining!"

"No way...is the circle complete?

"What do we do now?"

"Is this really the end?"

'No...someone...please stop this...' Cana prayed as she and the others watched the light get brighter.

- FT-

Erza stared at Aria's eyes as there was something strange about them. However, at the moment she didn't care and only glared back. "Come at me...Erza. I have activated the airspace of death, 'Zero'. This airspace consumes all life!" He shouted as a blast of wind blew by Erza. Happy hung on for dear life as the wind threatened to blow him way.

"Magic that consumes life..." Erza muttered in anger. "WHY DO YOU FIND IT SO EASY TO STEAL PEOPLE'S LIVES AWAY? YOU BASTARDS!"

"Hahahaha! Now let's have some fun." Erza charged at Aria. "I wonder...can you survive in this airspace?" He shouted. Erza didn't say anything and only swung her sword. Aria's eyes widened in shock as Erza was slicing the airspace like bread. "No way...how are you slicing the airspace?" Erza didn't answer him and only continued to swing her sword as she got closer and closer to Aria. "W-Wait..." He tried to plead with her, but Erza was having none of it as she quickly Re-quipped her armor to the Heaven's Wheel Armor and dealt the finishing blow.

"TENRIN BLUMENBLATT!" Aria was struck with many waves of slashes that knocked Aria out unconscious. Happy's jaw dropped to the ground at how easily she was able to beat the final member of the Element Four. "There is no way Master would lose to someone like you...that tale will never appear in your saga..." She glared at him.

"Erza is scary..." Happy shook in fear. "But...SHE WON!"

- FT-

"Everyone get down! It's about to fire!"

"Don't be ridiculous! This isn't the type of magic we can dodge by just simply ducking our heads!"

"We're doomed!"

Suddenly, one of the arms of the giant exploded. Then, one by one, the giant started to collapse. Cana was the first to have a smile on her face as it was over. "They did it!"

"YEAH!"

- FT-

"ERZA!" Happy shouted as he flew to her and grabbed her before she fell to the ground. He lifted her up slightly before gently putting her down as the room shook.

"Erza! Happy!" Gray, Elfman and Mirajane ran over to them.

"Everyone! You're okay!" Happy cheered in happiness.

"Yeah...but wait...why is Erza here?" Gray asked. "And why is the place shaking?"

"The Abyss Break...it stopped!" Mirajane cheered as she saw Aria's unconscious body. "We did it!"

- FT -

"IMPOSSIBLE!" Jose screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Hahahahahaha! This is just fucking hilarious! So much for your strongest members!" Alastor laughed his ass off.

"You...just what the hell have you been doing this entire time! I thought you would give us the strength to defeat them!" He yelled. He cringed when a sword appeared in front of his neck.

"Listen here you dumb ass! Don't blame me for your guild's incompetence!" He glared at him as Jose gulped in fear.

"R-Right..."

"Now that you understand...I assume you came back with good news..." He looked in the direction that Gajeel stood as he had Lucy in his arm.

"Unless this isn't good news...I don't know what is..." He smirked and dropped Lucy to the ground. "So...those Element Four idiots lost...I guess they're nothing but trash who lost to trash."

"You know...I'm starting to like you..." Alastor told him. "Unlike this guy..." He eyed Jose.

"Oi Gajeel...she's still alive, right?" Jose asked ignoring Alastor.

"Hmm..." He hummed and looked down at Lucy. He then kicked her in the stomach causing her to gasp in shock at the pain. "Yep...looks like she is, hehehehehe!"

"Damn you..." Lucy muttered in anger as she opened one of her eyes to look at Gajeel. She saw Jose and Alastor as well, but then groaned from the pain in her stomach.

"Hahahaha! Good work Gajeel!"

- FT -

"Reedus! What happened here?" Loke asked as he had this bad feeling and ran as fast as he could to where Lucy was being hidden. When he arrived, he saw the damage done to the hideout and hurried inside to find Reedus in bad shape. "Where is Lucy?"

"I-I'm...sorry...I...I couldn't protect...I couldn't protect her..." He started to cry at his failure. Loke gritted his teeth in anger.

'Damn it...I knew I had a bad feeling...I knew something like this would happen...damn it! What was I so afraid of? I was afraid to come and help! I'm the worst! Dammit!'

- FT -

"All you Fairy Tail members out there! I have some news that might interest you. We have captured Lucy Heartfilia!" Many collective gasps were heard at the news.

"W-What?"

"N-No way..."

"No...they found the hideout..." Mirajane gasped in shock.

"Our first object is complete..."

"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!" Lucy scream was heard through the speaker.

"Oh no!"

"That's Lucy's voice!"

"This can't be happening!"

"Please...please stop this!" Mirajane covered her mouth to stop the sobs from escaping.

"Natsu..."

"Huh? Erza...?" Happy asked as he and the others looked down at her. "Natsu...you got to wake up...please..."

Gray and Elfman clenched they're fists. Happy started to cry as Mirajane did the same.

"NATSU!"

* * *

><p>"<em>Damn it! Stop it! Leave me alone! I'm not weak! I want to get stronger!" He shouted as the voices of his comrades were going back and forth. "Stop it!" He opened his eyes and watched in horror as his Anti self started to kill his friends one by one.<em>

"_What are you waiting for? What are you so afraid of, huh? Release your power! Fight me with that power that you are so afraid of releasing!"_

"_I...I...I...I can't..."_

"_Then continue to watch your friends die one by one!" _

"_No...don't do it! Stop it! I can't release my power...I can't control it! I'm scared that I won't be able to control it and because of it I can kill my friends!"_

_Then the killing stopped as his friends disappeared and his darker half appeared in front of him. "That is what you are afraid of? Are you fucking kidding me? I was doing all of this because of that?"_

"_W-What?"_

"_Listen here asshole! You know why you are here? This trial is one that causes the person taking it to overcome the secret fear hidden inside them. I am that fear. I look like you because you are afraid of killing your friends with that power that you locked up with those shitty chains around your wrists. If you want to get out of here and help your friends, who are waiting for you to wake up and help them with that guild war they are involved in."_

_Natsu made a noise in surprise. 'That's right...my friends...they're involved with Phantom...damn it...how could I forget something like that! What am I doing? What am I fucking DOING? My friends are in trouble! I can't stay here much longer!' He then looked at the darker half of himself that was supposedly his darkest fear. 'He's right...I promised everyone that I will protect them. Lucy, Gray, Happy, Erza, Old Man...everyone...I told myself I would do anything to protect them. To save them. I can't do this alone. I need my friends. I need their help just as much as they need mine. I can't defeat anyone without their help! I can't believe I forgot about that! I'm so fucking stupid!'_

"_So...are you ready to face your fear or are you just going to watch me kill off each and every one of your friends again?"_

"_Shut up..." Natsu growled as he lifted his hands. A sudden bright light shined on his wrists as two golden chains formed around his wrists. The Anti-Natsu watched with a smirk as Natsu broke apart the chains. "Let's do this!"_

* * *

><p>"What the hell is going on?"<p>

"Why are these ghost things so much stronger all of a sudden?"

"It's Jose...it must be his doing!"

"Gah! Cana screamed as she was hit hard by one of the soldiers. She fell to the ground and lifted herself up with her elbows to watch as her comrades were getting beaten as well.

- FT -

"If you want something done...do it yourself...Gajeel, keep an eye on Lucy...I will go deal with the pests..."

"Yeah...yeah..."

"It's almost time..."

"Hmm? Time for what?" Gajeel asked looking at Alastor.

"Nothing..."

- FT -

Meanwhile, in the forest outside of Magnolia.

The Master of Fairy Tail was being kept with a watchful eye by Porlyusica as she mixed some potions together. She then turned her head to look at Makarov as she noticed some slight movement to see him slowly opening his eyes.

"Makarov..."

- FT -

"Damn...we got to go save Lucy!" Gray clenched his fists as the others nodded. Suddenly, a chill went up everyone's spine as Mirajane wrapped her arms around herself.

"W-What was that?"

"You brats think you are so damn good..." The five had their eyes widened in shock as they turned their heads to see Jose walked toward them. "But...you did put on a very good show for us." He chuckled.

"Master Jose!" They screamed.

'This guy...' Gray and Elfman thought as the atmosphere felt nauseating.

'How can someone's magic feel so evil...?' Mirajane wondered as she placed a hand on her mouth. 'It's making me physically sick from just being near him.'

"Well then, I must thank you for providing me with such entertainment. I've had my fill...now it's time for you to die!"

"No! Get away from him!" Erza screamed.

"Take this!" He raised his arm and shot electrical magic at the two of them. Both were already so badly injured that the attack was too much for them and they were knocked out.

"Gray! Elfman!" Mirajane screamed.

"Damn you..." Erza growled as she tried to stand up, but struggled doing so.

Jose however wasn't finished as he swiped his hand to the side that caused a large burst of dark magic to deal even more damage. Mirajane screamed as her head hit the ground hard and knocked her out as well. Happy was also blown away and hit his head against a pillar, knocking him unconscious. Erza stormed at him, Re-quipping her armor in the process as Jose pointed his arm at her and shot a blast of his magic at her. She dodged and swung her sword, but Jose dodged it easily and then grabbed her leg before swinging her at the wall.

"You know...I am surprised you are still standing...after all...taking on Jupiter must have taken a toll on your body." Jose said as Erza stood up.

"My friends are what is keeping me on my feet." She told him. "As long as I'm fighting for the people I love, I won't lose!"

"What an admirable and touching heart you have...yes, you are definitely a woman worth killing." He smirked as his eyes grew dark like his magic.

- FT -

Lucy cringed as a kunai was thrown at her only to be pierced through the wall next to her that she was chained onto. She bit her bottom lip at how close the kunai was to almost stabbing her in her face. She opened one of her eyes to look at Gajeel as he twirled another kunai in his hand. "Damn...I thought that one was going to hit you for sure."

"Gajeel...you shouldn't do that...you might really hurt her and we can't have her hurt or worse killed..." One of the members of Phantom told the Iron Dragonslayer.

"Eh? But I'm bored..." He replied, sighing. "Now then...where should I aim next?"

"J-Just stop it..." He tried again, but this time Gajeel slammed his head against his. The poor guy was slammed hard onto the ground, knocking him out.

"Shut the fuck up..." Gajeel growled in anger as he glared at him. "I don't care who this girl is. For what I care she is only one of those trash from Fairy Tail. Who gives a shit if she dies or whatever."

"But if she dies then the Master would be very angry with you." One of them told him.

"Who cares...I'll just blame it on you."

"No way!" They shouted in shock.

"Man this sucks...even those Tail idiots are throwing their lives away just cause this girl has some cash."

"Hahaha..." Gajeel's ears twitched as he heard Lucy laugh.

"Huh? You say something, girl?"

"You guys are complete idiots, aren't you? It's so sad that it makes me want to cry." She told him.

"Is that right? To be able to bluff in your current situation is impressive...maybe you might be worth something after all."

"You idiots aren't even the tiniest bit scared, are you...?" Suddenly, Gajeel threw the kunai in his hand and it almost grazed Lucy's cheek as it pierced through the wall.

"Sorry...but...did you say something?" Gajeel smirked as the other members cringed at how close that kunai was.

"You're the ones who'd be in trouble if I died, you know. There is no way Fairy Tail would ever forgive you! That's the kind of guild they are. You'd just end up cowering in fear against the most terrible guild in the world for the rest of your lives." She smirked.

"Oh...is that so? That is some interesting theory you have there...maybe I should put it to the test..." He chuckled as he held up another kunai.

"Wait Gajeel!" He ignored them and threw the kunai.

"Gajeel!" Lucy closed her eyes as she saw the kunai coming toward her. However, it never hit her and she looked up to see Alastor stopping the kunai in a huge surprise.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Gajeel asked, glaring at him.

"Don't look at me like that you asshole. This girl is way too important for you to mess around with. Besides, someone will be really angry if something happened to her." Alastor told him as he broke the kunai in half.

"Like I care what Master Jose thinks." Gajeel responded.

"Whoever said anything about him?"

"Huh? Then who the hell are you talking about?"

"You'll know soon enough..."

Gajeel blinked at him in confusion. "Fine...whatever..." He turned around and walked over to take a seat on one of the steps that led to the exit of the room.

"You are one lucky girl, Lucy Heartfilia..." Alastor told her as she looked at him. "But...you might also be the unluckiest girl as well." He chuckled before walking back to where he stood previously.

"W-What did he mean by that?"

- FT -

"Aaaaah!" Erza shouted as she charged at Jose. She swung her sword at him, but he simply dodged her blade and the swung his arm to shoot a wave of his magic at her. It connected as she was hit by the blow and sent flying to the other end of the room. "Damn you..." Erza winced in pain as she struggled to get up.

"This is starting to get boring Erza Scarlet. However, it is impressive that you are able to withstand everything. However, you have no chance of defeating me the way you are now." He chuckled. "It's too bad...I always wanted to face you, Titania."

"I haven't lost yet!" She yelled, trying to get up and she managed, but her knees were shaking violently.

"Oh...but you sure do look like someone who can't go on any further..." He smirked mischievously and raised his hand as his hand started to be surrounded by his dark magic.

Erza clutched her sword tightly as she knew she was at her limit. She knew she couldn't take another direct hit from Jose. However, despite all of that, despite the pain she was feeling all over her body, she knew she couldn't give up, not when all her friends were counting on her. 'I can't lose!'

"Die, Titania!" Jose shouted as he pointed his arm at her and shot out a blast of dark magic. Erza charged at it. She tried cutting the blast, but all she could do was block it as she was getting pushed back. "Nice try, but it won't work!" He shouted and applied more of his magic to the blast. It was too much for a weakened Erza as the extra power caused Erza to lose her grip on her sword. The sword was blown away and the blast hit her. She was pushed all the way to the wall, destroying it as it created an opening to the outside.

"Gah!" Erza spat out blood. She opened her eyes and was met with a clear blue sky. She tried getting up, but the pain in her body was too much.

"Well, well...would you look at that site..." Jose smirked at the scene. Erza heard his words and moved her head back to see what he was talking about and her eyes widened in horror.

- FT -

"Oh no...our guild!" Members of Fairy Tail watched in horror as the ghost soldiers attacked the guild building that they had so many memories in. The guild was starting to crumble as it was getting hit after hit. The guild members couldn't hold their own against the new powered up ghost soldiers as they struggled to hold them back. However, the ones who did get past them, attack the guild building with pillars and magic attacks.

Cana lifted herself up on her elbows as she struggled to stay up. She looked at what the enemy was doing to their guild building was just so horrifying. "No! It can't end like this! Not our guild!" She cried. "Please stop!" It was then that she realized that there were two people inside the building at that moment. "Oh no...Natsu! Levy!"

"What? Oh no! Those two are still in there!" Macao realized the same thing as he looked back at the guild.

"Levy!" Jet and Droy shouted as they tried to get inside to save her, but were held back by other members of the guild. "Let us go!"

"Don't be idiots! You want to get yourselves killed as well!"

"Let us go! Levy!"

Soon, then entire building collapsed to the ground as everyone watched with widened eyes. Cana was on her knees as tears started falling from her eyes. The guild building that she and the others loved was no longer there. It was nothing but rubble. The worst part of all this, was the fact that two of their guild members were in there when the building collapsed. "Natsu! Levy!" Cana cried as she tried to rush toward the building and began digging through the rubble for any sign of her nakama.

Jet and Droy joined her as they too started looking for their comrade. The others only looked on with frowns and some tears as they were still in shock over what happened.

- FT -

"Oh...would you look at that..." Alastor chuckled as he saw what happened.

"Hmm? What is it?" Gajeel asked, standing up and walking over to him.

"Allow me to show you..." He smirked and made two swords appear in his hands. He then faced the wall and swung his swords. Everyone watched as the wall was cut into hundreds of pieces. Sunlight entered the room. Gajeel smirked at what he saw.

"Hahahahaha! Oh this is just fucking great!" He laughed as Lucy struggled to get a look at what they were seeing. She managed to get a glimpse and her eyes widened in shock. Tears started to fall as soon as she saw the rubble that was once the guild. Not only that, but she knew Natsu was inside as well. Her chest suddenly tightened and she felt the worse feeling she ever did.

'No...Natsu...it can't be...'

* * *

><p>Makarov ran as fast as he humanly could as he had a bad feeling lately. He wasn't sure why, but he knew something must have happened to his children. He heard some type of rumbling and was convinced that something did happen. He didn't stop to wonder what the rumbling was and only moved forward. 'Don't worry everyone...I'm coming...' He jumped onto a roof of a building and started to jump from one roof to the other. He noticed something was off. The guild building wasn't there. He didn't know why it wasn't there, but he continued to get to the place where his children were fighting for their lives. He then sensed something and stopped. "Who are you?"<p>

"Calm down...Makarov-san..."

"I will ask again, who are you?"

"Me...well..." The man said as he put the canteen he had to his lips and took a large gulp of whatever was inside it. He let out one big sigh of relief before looking in the direction where the guild once stood. "...I guess I'm an idiot who decided to train an even bigger idiot..." He chuckled as Makarov looked at him in confusion. "I would really like to avoid a fight with you, Makarov-san...but why don't you just watch and see something that not even you won't believe..."

* * *

><p>"Natsu! Levy!" Cana cried as her hands started to bleed from all the work she did in trying to find her two comrades. "Please be alright...please!" Everyone else couldn't stand to watch the sight. They wanted to help her, but it didn't look good for their comrades. "Somebody...anybody...HELP US!"<p>

Her prayers were answered as from within the center of the rubble, a large geyser of red flames shot up. Everyone's eyes widened in shock at the sight. In the sky, the flames changed form into the image of a large dragon letting out a large roar to the sky.

From the view of Erza and Jose, both were shocked at what they were seeing. Erza knew of only one person who was able to do something like this. She couldn't help but put the largest and warmest smile she ever placed on her face. 'Natsu...'

Gajeel was stunned at the amount of magic that was being produced by the one man he thought he defeated. He gritted his teeth in anger as he then turned toward Alastor. "What the hell is this? I thought we..." He stopped when he saw the expression on the red head's face.

"Hehehehe...hahahahaha...HAHAHAHAHAHA! FINALLY! FINALLY YOU WAKE UP! FINALLY I GET TO HAVE SOME FUN!" He yelled as Gajeel backed away at how crazy the man was becoming.

Lucy saw the flame and couldn't help but smile as tears fell down her cheeks. She was so happy that he was okay.

The others watched in shock as the flames were so strong that it almost looked like a real dragon was right in front of them. They then saw a silhouette in the fire and looked there as the flames returned to their normal form. In an instant, the flame dispersed to reveal Natsu standing in the center of the rubble, Levy in his arms bridal style.

Levy started opening her eyes as the last thing she remembered was putting her arms over her head to protect herself. Then, she felt warm hands wrap around her body and now she was staring up at Natsu, who had a serious look on his face as he stared at whatever it was in front of him. She then saw the position she was in and blushed at how close she was to Natsu. "N-Natsu...what...what happened...?"

"Levy..." He said in a tone that made her shut up and look up at him with red cheeks. She watched a she turned his head to look at her and then he smiled. "...are you alright?"

"H-Hai..." She responded as she felt her heart beat all so quickly.

"That's good..." He said and then started walking over the rubble. He reached the end of the rubble and jumped onto the ground. He then gently let her down as she couldn't stop looking at Natsu. "You should be okay here." He told her and she simply nodded as she clasped her hands together in front of her chest. Natsu turned to look at the others and saw the look of both shock and sadness on their faces. He walked up to them and stopped next to Cana.

"Natsu..." She said as she looked up at him with tearful eyes.

"I'm sorry for being late, Cana." He told her and looked at her with a sad smile. "But...I'm back."

"You idiot!" She yelled. "What took you so damn long to wake up? You almost gave everyone a heart attack!"

"Yeah...sorry about that...but...right now...it's time to end this..." He told her as he started walking again. Cana watched him leave and for some reason, she had this feeling of hope as she watched his retreating back.

'Since when did he...become this cool...'

Natsu continued walking and noticed the ghost soldiers that were ready to strike him. He stopped and raised his arm. His arm ignited and when he did,m the soldiers charged at him. "Get out of my way." He stated and swung his arm to send a large blast of fire magic that burned each and every soldier to a crisp. The others were in complete shock as Natsu single handily defeated every single soldier like it was nothing. He then started walking forward again. His eyes never left the destroyed guild building that belonged to Phantom.

"That brat is still alive...damn that man!" Jose gritted his teeth in anger. "If you want something done, you have to do it yourself." He stated and then looked at Erza. "I will be back for your life, Titania!" He told her and then disappeared.

"That Salamander...how is he still alive! Fuck this! I'm going!" He stated and jumped out the hole.

"Impatient little bastard..." Alastor said as he watched Gajeel head down to the coast. He then soon followed.

Natsu stopped walking when he saw the three appear just a few feet away from him. He looked between all three of them and clenched his fists.

"You piece of shit! How are you still alive?" Gajeel shouted. Natsu didn't answer him.

"This is all your fault..." Jose blamed Alastor.

"I wouldn't talk to me like that...after all...I did kick your ass once before and I could still do it again." He warned him.

"Tch..." Jose turned his head back to Natsu.

"Not talking, huh?" Gajeel growled in anger. "Fine then! Action speak louder than words Salamander!" He charged at Natsu.

"He really is impatient..." Alastor chuckled.

"Take this!" Gajeel shot his arm forward as he transformed it into a steel club. Natsu didn't move and raised his arm. He lifted his index finger and that was more than enough to block Gajeel's attack. Gajeel's eyes popped out of his head and jaw dropped at what just happened. The others did the same. Natsu was able to stop his attack with just using his finger. "N-N-No way...you got to be kidding me...h-how did he...?" He then saw Natsu disappear. He then reappeared in front of him and before Gajeel could do anything, Natsu punched him in the face that sent him flying back to the destroyed Phantom Lord building.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" Many of them shouted in complete shock as Gajeel was knocked out in an instant.

"S-Such power..." Jose stuttered in shock. He never seen such raw power before.

"You want to know something even more amazing..." Alastor said to him as he had a smirk the entire time. "He did that without using his magic whatsoever."

"What?" Jose yelled in shock.

"Oi..." Natsu called out to the two as they looked at him. "Who's next?"

**To Be Continued...**

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes: <strong>Okay...they're many reasons why it took so long to update. 1) Laziness 2) Schoolwork 3) Laziness 4) I'm an assistant coach for a softball team so that occupied my time 5) More laziness 6) ...okay maybe that's really all. I apologize for that, but as to show how sorry I am, I made this chapter really, really long as it took care of the fights between Fairy Tail and the Element Four.

I know that I didn't change some of the fights that happened and the reason in doing so is because I had a hard time trying to figure out how to work any of it differently, but I couldn't and I really wanted to give you guys this chapter as soon as possible.

Well, I guess that's all for now, until next time! Ja ne!

- FT -


	17. Natsu VS Alastor

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related which includes the characters of Fairy Tail.

**Rated M! You have been warned!**

**Not yet Edited! Will be soon!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 17: Natsu VS Alastor<strong>

Civilians of Magnolia were all looking from a distance at the events that transpired at the Fairy Tail Guild. Some ran to take cover in case the action moved toward the center of the town, but those who stayed behind watched the action that took place.

A slender woman with long black hair walked through the town as her low heel boots made a tapping sound as it connected with the ground. None of the citizens paid any attention to the woman as she passed them one by one. Her black colored skirt with a light blue colored arch shaped design at the hem, swayed back and forth as she walked. She also wore short sleeve black colored jacket, with similar light blue colored patterns.

She then suddenly stopped and looked in the direction that the Fairy Tail Guild once stood. She let out a loud sigh. "Jeez...what did those two idiots do now?" She groaned and started walking again.

* * *

><p>"You fucking brat!" Jose glared at Natsu. His anger was clearly visible on his face. Natsu was not fazed by the angry Guild Master and patiently waited for him to make the first move. Jose clenched his fists and slowly walked towards the pink haired dragon slayer "Do you really think that just because you defeated Gajeel, you stand a chance against me?"<p>

"..." He stayed silent and just looked at him as he stopped walking.

"Not only am I stronger than Gajeel, I am one of the Ten Wizard Saints! I am far more powerful than you ever will be! So, if you think, just for one second that I will lose to a fool like you, you are mistaken!"

"Hey..." Natsu spoke. When he did, everyone wondered what he was going to say next. "I don't give a crap who the fuck you are! You destroyed my home, hurt my friends and made them cry...I hope you're ready to get your ass kicked." He gave Jose a death glare that surprisingly made a shiver run down the Guild Master's spine.

"Oh...such anger..." Alastor chuckled at the glare.

"You cocky brat!" Jose gritted his teeth. Small, purple colored ghosts began to appear around him. "You can say all the threats you want, but let's just see if you can back those words up!" He moved his hand and swiped it as a large explosion erupted in the same pattern as his hand moved. "Dark Explosion!"

"Natsu!" Some of the guild members shouted. The explosion created a small, black smoke cloud making it impossible to see if Natsu was okay or not. Jose was smirking and chuckling as he assumed that his attack was enough to make the Dragon slayer go down.

"Hehehe...so much for your final hope." He told the other guild members. "H e was an idiot for trying to stop me and my ambitions. He was a fool and now he's..."

"Oh...shut up!" Jose stopped talking and his eyes widened as he looked at the smoke cloud. The cloud dispersed to see Natsu with no physical harm seen anywhere on his body.

"W-What...? How are you...?"

"Do you know how annoying your voice is, especially when you laugh?" He told him. Jose felt a vein pop on his forehead.

"He has a point...your voice is annoying." Alastor agreed.

"You just shut up!" He retorted back at the red haired man. He chuckled in response to his outburst. Jose then turned to Natsu. "I don't know how you are not dead, but it looks like I can't go easy on you." He smirked. Suddenly, his ghosts appeared behind him. The ghosts charged at Natsu as he engulfed his fists into flames and crossed his arms in front of him, before swiping his arms out and creating a large flame that burned the ghosts away. Jose smirked as he thought his decoys would work. Natsu looked down to see two ghosts try to attach themselves onto him, but he quickly reacted and punched the ghosts with his fists, burning them as well. Jose was shocked his plan failed.

"I'm tired of this..." Natsu sighed and then glared at the Phantom Lord Guild Master.

"You bastard!" He gritted his teeth and raised his arm. He closed his hand into a fist. His appearance began to change. His eyes turned a menacing color as if the power of his magic made his eyes turned such a clack color. Purple colored magic started forming around it. "Die you Fairy Tail bastard!" He then shot his arm at Natsu. "Dead Wave!" A large beam of magic was shot at him. The others were in shock at the powerful the attack felt as it split the ground in half on its way toward Natsu. "Hahaha! There is no way for you to dodge this attack! As soon as it touches you, you will be torn to shreds!"

Natsu takes a deep breath and places his hands in front of his mouth. "Fire Dragon's Roar!" He shouted and a large blast of fire was shot at the Dead Wave. The attacks connected and at first both were evenly matched. However, it wouldn't last long as Natsu's attack ripped the Dead Wave in half. Jose's eyes widened in shock as his attack was being cut in half and headed toward him. He couldn't move his feet as the attack connected and sent the Guild Master pass Alastor and into the destroyed Phantom Lord building. It created a small explosion that shook the building.

* * *

><p>"Mira-san...wake up..." Lucy patted Mirajane's cheek slightly as the older woman began to stir. She opened her eyes halfway and saw Lucy through her blurry vision. She blinked her eyes several times and when she saw Lucy, a large smile was placed on her face.<p>

"Lucy...you're alright...thank goodness..." Lucy smiled back in response and nodded her head.

"Yeah...what about you?"

"I'm fine..." She replied while sitting up. "What about the others?" Both she and Lucy turned their heads to see Gray, Elfman and Happy beginning to wake up as well.

"Damn...what the hell was that shaking?" Gray muttered and rubbed the back of his neck as he looked around.

"Sounds like someone is fighting..." Elfman added.

"But who?" Happy asked.

"It's Natsu." The four of them all turned their heads to Lucy in shock.

"What? Natsu is awake!" Gray shouted.

"Is that true, Lucy?" Mirajane asked, hoping she was telling the truth. She nodded.

"Yep!" She smiled back and the two woman smiled at each other.

"Hooray! Natsu is back! I'm going to go see him!" Happy exclaimed in excitement and grew wings and flew outside.

"Ah! Wait up, Happy!" Lucy screamed after him. "Can you guys walk?" She asked the others.

"Of course!" Elfman exclaimed and took a step before slightly stumbling.

"Idiot..." Gray muttered and placed his large arm over his shoulder. "Let's go." He said and they nodded their heads and went after Happy.

* * *

><p>Erza slowly got herself up, but leaned on the pillar to her right. She was amazed at what she just saw. Natsu was able to defeat Jose, one of the Ten Wizard Saints and he made it look easy. She was surprised at how strong he was. It was almost like he was on a whole new different level from her. It was almost like the two years he was gone made him a lot stronger compared to what she had been doing.<p>

Of course she was worried about him using Dragon Metamorphosis, but seeing what he just did, it was almost like he wasn't going to need to use that technique. It made her feel relieved, but now he was going to fight the man who almost killed him. It made her worry.

"Erza!" She turned around to see Happy fly toward her.

"Happy...you're alright..." She smiled and sighed in relief.

"Hey! Is it true? Is Natsu really awake?" He asked her. Her smile widened and she nodded her head.

"Yeah...he's down there." She turned to look at Natsu. Happy followed her gaze and when he saw Natsu, he felt tears come to his eyes. He wanted to to fly down to him, but he could feel the tense atmosphere that was emitting from just outside the walls of the destroyed building they were in.

"Natsu!" Happy cried tears of joy. Erza smiled at him. She then saw the others running toward her. She let out another sigh of relief as they were safe as well.

"Erza!" Lucy called out and waved her hand.

"Everyone! It's good to see all of you are okay!"

"Yeah...how's Natsu doing?" Lucy asked.

"So far...he defeated both the Iron Dragon slayer and Jose." The others gasped.

"Seriously? Our Natsu defeated Jose?" Gray asked stunned.

"Yeah...that shaking from before was Natsu blasting Jose into the building...it was...incredible..." She said, looking down at Natsu.

"I'm so glad he's okay..." Mirajane whispered, letting out a sigh of relief.

Elfman looked down and smirked when he saw Natsu.

Gray was still in shock.

"We should head down there." Erza told the others. "It's probably not safe here with Natsu fighting."

"Yeah...you're probably right..." Lucy chuckled knowing Natsu's destructive nature. Happy nodded his head and grinned and Mirajane only giggled in response. With that, they started making their way down from the building as Natsu's fight with Alastor was about to begin.

* * *

><p>"I'm impressed, Natsu..." Alastor complimented Natsu's strength.<p>

"..."

"What? I'm complimenting you so say something you idiot."

"Why?"

"Hm?"

"Why are you helping out Phantom Lord?"

"I'm bored..."

"Don't give me that bullshit!"

Alastor let out a sigh. "I'm serious. I was bored."

"So you did all of this just because you were bored!"

"Yep!" The response pissed Natsu off as he charged at Alastor. "Aren't you an impatient dragon slayer" Alastor didn't move as he let Natsu punch him in the face. He was forced onto his back a few feet away, a smirk on his face. "Wow, that punch of yours is powerful. No wonder Gajeel wasn't able to last a second against you." He said and jumped back onto his feet. "However, you made a mistake by punching me."

Natsu's eyes widened suddenly as he felt intense pain his the fist he punched him with. Then, to everyone's surprise, Natsu's fist suddenly exploded. "AAAAAHHH!" Natsu screamed as he was blown back. Once he was on his back, he grabbed his wrist and clenched it as tightly as he could so that he could decrease the amount of pain that was coursing through his hand.

"W-What just happened?" Max asked, shocked at what he saw.

"Natsu's hand...just exploded..." Macao answered, surprised as well.

"Hahahaha! Hurts doesn't it. I recommend you don't hit me again." Alastor laughed as he bent down and rested his arms on his knees.

"Bastard...what the hell did you do?" Natsu groaned and hissed.

"Sorry, but if I told you that then my secret would be revealed...an a mage never reveals his secrets."

Natsu groaned and struggled to get back on his feet. He eventually managed to do so successfully, but he kept his hand on his wrist. He glared at Alastor as a trail of smoke came out of his charred hand. He tried to close his hand into a fist, but couldn't as it was too painful to do so. 'Shit...what the hell? What did he do?' He had a bunch of questions that ran through his hand, but he had no answer to any of them. 'I probably shouldn't attack him physically until I know what happened to my hand.' He let go of his charred hand and lifted his free hand and placed it in front of his mouth. "Fire Dragon's Roar!" Alastor's smirk widened as he saw the large burst of flame head straight for him. He didn't move and everyone watched as he was engulfed in the flame. 'What? He didn't move again...'

Suddenly a big burst of wind came and the flames dispersed as Alastor was standing unharmed in the same spot. "Such impressive flames Natsu...however, it won't work on someone like me." He told him. "Maybe you should turn up the heat on your flames...just a suggestion." He stood up and stretched his arms up. "However, I'm tired of doing nothing, I think I'll go on the offensive." He smirked and stretched his arms out to make two swords appear. "Let's get fired up." He charged at Natsu.

Natsu dodged and dodged and kept on dodging as he avoided making any contact with Alastor. He didn't know how he made his hand explode, but he knew that it had to do with making contact with the red haired man. It was difficult to dodge because of the immobility of his right hand, which made it hard for him to move his right shoulder the way he wanted to. However, he was quick enough to evade his attacks, which weren't all that fast. Alastor swung his sword in a horizontal way and Natsu dodged by jumping backwards, creating a fair amount of distance between them.

"Wow...they moved so fast it was hard to keep up..." Nab gulped.

"It's almost like they are in a completely different level..." Wakabe muttered.

"You sure are fast despite not being able to use your right arm as well as you did before." Alastor told him. "Granted I'm slower than you when it comes to speed, but it's still quite impressive."

'I have to think of something...I wonder if I should attack him with my fire...it's risky, but I hope it works...' Natsu took a deep breath and raised his left arm and engulfed it in flames. He then used his flames as thrusters to quickly get in front of his opponent, catching him off guard and then punching him in the face. "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Natsu shouted as he punched as hard as he could. His eye caught something before Alastor was blown away. He looked at his left hand that was still engulfed in his fire. He then felt the same pain as with his right hand and everyone watched as his left hand exploded the same way. "AAAAHHHH!" He cried out in pain. 'Well...that didn't work!' He cringed in pain.

"Natsu!" His fellow guild members called out to him.

"That idiot...what was he thinking..."

"I guess he must have thought it wouldn't work if he used his flames instead of his bare hands."

"Well, it didn't work did it."

'Argh...it hurts...but what was that? It looked like he touched me with his hand...' He opened his eyes to look down at his left hand. His eyes widened. 'Wait a minute...my hand...this is...' His hand was not charred. It was his forearm. 'I get it now...if I attack him with my flames, he can't use that technique or whatever it is...' He raised his head to look at Alastor, who was getting up slowly.

"Hehehe...I'm guessing you figured it out." He chuckled and wiped the blood that was falling from the corner of his mouth. "The only way for me to use that technique is if I make contact with your body. However, I can't do that if your flames are in the way. However, it's too late for you to do anything since I immobilized your arms."

"That maybe so...but..." Natsu stood up and used his flames as thrusters toward him. "I can still use my feet!" He shouted before kicking Alastor in the face with his flame covered right foot, followed by his left foot, smashing his head into the ground.

"Go Natsu!" Fairy Tail shouted as he flew in the air and engulfed his legs into flames.

"Take this!" He began spinning around and descending down to Alastor's body.

"You think I'll let you!" He shouted in anger and stood up. He planted his feet into the ground and raised his arms. To everyone's surprise, Alastor grabbed Natsu as he spun around and around in his arms. "Wraaaaahhhhh!" He screamed before mustering his strength and slamming Natsu down onto the ground.

"Natsu!" They shouted in horror as Natsu's skull made very hard contact with the ground.

"Hehehehe! Would you look at that...your feet are exposed." He said as his feet were no longer covered in his flames. "How about I immobilize your legs next?" He started to reach for his legs. However, Natsu lifted himself up and puffed his cheeks.

"Lightning Flame Dragon's Roar!" Alastor's eyes widened as a large burst of flame mixed with lightning magic escaped from his mouth and blew up into the sky. The others were totally stunned at the amount of magic power that Natsu was emitting as well as the fact that he used an element besides fire.

* * *

><p>Erza and the others made it outside the destroyed building in time to see Natsu unleash his attack. They too were stunned by the attack. They never felt so much magical energy in one attack before. The attack subsided and a large dust cloud formed around the battlefield making it impossible to see the result of the attack.<p>

"W-Wow...was that really...Natsu...?" Mirajane asked, her eyes widened.

"Just how strong is he?" Elfman wondered as Gray felt angry at what he just saw, but deep down was amazed and shocked at how strong Natsu was becoming.

Erza frowned slightly. She couldn't see it well, but she wondered if Natsu had used that technique since he let out this much magic. She hoped he didn't. However, she wasn't going to know the answer to her question as long as the large dust cloud was blocking everything.

"D-Did Natsu win?" Max asked as he and the others wanted to know the answer to that question as well. It took a while, but the dust cloud dispersed. Natsu was seen standing tall, but his arms looked like they had no strength in them as they slightly dangled due to the charred areas around his arm. Everyone sighed in relief to see that he was okay.

Erza let out the biggest sigh of them all as she saw that Natsu did not use Dragon Metamorphosis. However, her eyes then widened. 'I-Incredible...j-just how strong has Natsu become...' Erza thought in awe.

'Where is he?' Natsu wondered, moving his eyes around to look for him. He then suddenly felt his presence behind him. Before he could even do anything, Alastor placed both of his hands right on his back. This made Natsu's eyes widened in shock as Alastor jumped away from Natsu before the areas he touched exploded.

"Natsu!" Everyone shouted in shock as their pink haired dragon slayer fell to the ground, cringing in pain as the explosion tore a hole in his vest and smoke rose up from his charred back.

"W-What just happened?" Gray asked, confused and stunned.

"I don't know...but it looked like he just exploded." Lucy shouted.

"How is that even possible?" Happy asked.

"Like I would know!" She responded back.

'Damn...what the hell...did he just got faster...no...it's not only that, but I couldn't even feel his presence until the moment he came from behind me...just who is this guy...?' He lifted his head to turn around and look at the red haired man. When he saw him, his eyes widened in shock.

"Surprised...hehehe...I thought you would be...after all...it's not like you get to see this form everyday..." Alastor chuckled as a tail made a whipping sound behind him. "Allow me to introduce my new form...Metamorphosis of the Demon!" He indeed looked like a demon as his tail swayed from side to side. He also flapped his wings to stretch them out. His eyes were dark colored and the top of his head changed as well to look like a demon with horns and a black and red colored design. (It's kind of hard for me to write the description in words, but just imagine him as if Hollow Ichigo and Ulquiorra fused together. Looks pretty cool huh?)

Mirajane's eyes widened and gasped at the transformation.

"H-How is that...?" Natsu stuttered in shock.

"Well, technically its not really called that, I just felt like calling it because it sounded cool." Alastor chuckled. "Also..." He disappeared and appeared in next to Natsu and planted his foot on top of his head. He then pushed it down to the ground and leaned down to him. "...the truth of the matter is...I'm an actual demon."

"W-What...?"

"Of course I don't mean metaphorically. I'm actual demon...kind of like those monsters you defeated...who were they again..."

'Wait a minute...does that mean that Zeref has something to do with this...?' Natsu thought as he tried to lift himself up.

"Ah well...doesn't matter...not like you can compare them to me...but it's still impressive that you could defeat them." He chuckled. "Now then, I think it's time for me to kill you. Don't worry though, I plan to do it quick and painless. Then, I'm going to go after your nakama!"

"Like hell you will!" Natsu shouted as he slammed his hands down onto the ground, ignoring the intense pain he felt in them and started to lift himself off the ground. He felt pain in his back as well, but that still didn't stop him. Alastor tried pushing him back down, but Natsu wasn't letting him. He didn't want to give Natsu any chance to get back into the fight with him having the advantage at the moment. He was surprised at what he was doing after what he did to his arms and back. He lifted his arm and placed it on his back. He then flapped his wings and flew up to avoid the explosion that came.

Natsu spat out blood at the explosion and fell down to one knee. He groaned and gritted his teeth at the pain, but he didn't stop and began to lift himself up again. "Tch!" Alastor created a red colored magical bow and arrow and pointed it down at Natsu.

"Natsu! Watch out!" His fellow guild members shouted as the demon launched an arrow down toward him. Without even looking in his direction, he lifted his charred right hand and grabbed the arrow. Alastor's eyes widened in shock. He squeezed the arrow and everyone watched as it got destroyed. He slowly turned around and glared at the demon.

"Impressive once again, dragon slayer..but how about twenty?" With that said, he created 20 red arrows and placed them in the bow before launching them at him.

"Crimson Lotus: Fire Dragon's Fist!" Natsu ignited his fists and began punching rapidly at the arrows. Each contact that he made caused a small explosion that grew into a big one when all were destroyed. A large smokescreen appeared, but it didn't last long as Natsu flew straight through it and toward Alastor.

"Lightning Flame Dragon's Fist!" He threw the strong punch at Alastor who lifted his hands up and tried to block the attack with them. The attack connected and pushed the demon backed. However, he was able to successfully block it, but Natsu wasn't done. "Fire Dragon's Flame Elbow!" His elbow erupted in flames as it helped push through the demon's block and deliver a punch to his gut. Alastor spat out blood from the impact. Natsu used the momentum from the punch to do a small back flip and then ignited his leg before slamming it down on top of his head. The demon crashed down to the ground creating a large crater and a burst of wind that made the others cover their eyes and hold on to the ground or something nearby.

Natsu landed on the ground and took some deep breaths. He waited to see if he won or not. There was a small dust cloud around the area Alastor crashed into as the winds subsided and everyone else watched and waited as well. Once the dust cloud dispersed, the demon man stood tall glaring at the pink haired dragon slayer, some blood trickling down his temple and the corner of his mouth.

"You really are pissing me off..." He spoke in the type of tone that a demon would have sounded like. "I guess it is partially my fault...however, it's time I stop fooling around." He closed his eyes. Natsu planted his feet and prepared himself to whatever he was planning on doing. He then opened his eyes and when he did, a sudden dark and eery chill ran up Natsu's spine. Natsu was frozen in place as his legs felt like jelly and were ready to collapse. It felt so strange and it almost looked like the blue skies above him were painted in black and red. "Dark Forbidden Magic: Tempus Defixio Excessum." (The three Latin words mean, in order, time, curse, death)

Suddenly, a small purple clock appeared above his head. "W-What is this?"

"Natsu!" Said dragon slayer turned his head toward the voice to which belonged to Mirajane.

"Mira..."

"You don't have much time! That thing is your death clock!" Everyone's eyes widened.

"What? What do you mean?" Erza asked.

"It's a spell that can't be dispelled unless you defeat the castor. When the clock makes one full turn the victim dies immediately!" There was a large collective gasps from everyone as well as widened eyes.

* * *

><p>"WHAT?" Makarov roared in anger as he recognized the spell that was put on Natsu.<p>

"Calm down..." The man who stopped him before told the Master of Fairy Tail.

"Move out of the way! I have to go help him!"

"I told you before didn't I? Just watch. I didn't train that idiot to lose to something like this so easily."

"If he dies...I will personally kill you with my bare hands." Makarov glared at him as he threatened the man. The man only chuckled.

"I wouldn't worry about that...If he does die...then I'll kill myself..." Makarov gasped and looked at him in shock at his words.

* * *

><p>"I see...how much time do I have?" Natsu asked Mirajane.<p>

"About five minutes." She said with a frown and worry shown on her face.

"Five minutes, huh?" He repeated and looked up to see the hand on the clock begin to move. "Sounds like fun." He smirked and glared at Alastor.

"Oh...I'm glad you sound so excited despite being less than five minutes away from death. Although, I'm sure this means you'll go all out to try and defeat me." He smirked as well and raised his arm to summon a red sword made of pure magic. 'Now...show me that power he is so obsessed with...'

'For some reason...it feels like he wants me to use Dragon Metamorphosis...but I can't count on that technique all the time...even though I have this spell on me...I have to use the power he helped me release...' He closed his eyes and then slammed his fists together as he ignited them in fire. The amount of flames that appeared from his hands was incredible. Those who knew Natsu's flames very well noticed a sudden change in them. Not only were they the same red and orange color, but they also had yellow colored flames added as well.

* * *

><p>"Natsu's flames...they feel different..." Makarov noticed as he narrowed his eyes at him.<p>

"That's because they are..." The man told him. "Fire is usually considered the element of destruction since it usually only causes destruction. However, what some don't know is that fire can also be the most harmless element out of them all."

"Explain..."

"If you ever noticed, Natsu's tactics usually involve causing destruction with his fire magic, but unfortunately that way of fighting means he has little control over his flames. There was an incident during one of our training sessions that caused Natsu to almost kill me."

"What happened?" He asked, surprised.

"He lost complete control over his flames after trying to go beyond his bodies ability to do so. He lost consciousness and in return lost complete control over his flames like a wild Dragon. He destroyed a town up in the north that I managed to prevent making headline news, but his complete loss of control almost killed me."

"What about the villagers?" Makarov asked, shocked to hear exactly what happened.

"Don't worry, they were all saved by a friend of mine." He heard the Master let out a sigh of relief. "Not only that, but because he didn't have great control of his flames, he couldn't unlock the legendary golden flame."

"Golden flame?"

"Yeah...you see how there is a mixture of his red flame and some golden ones? That is the legendary golden flame known as the Flame of Rebuke. It's a type of flame that not many people can possess. It's a powerful flame that without proper control of it can cause someone to lose consciousness and then lose control of his flames in general. Natsu was never able to unlock this flame until I taught him how to do so."

"Did you also teach him how to combine fire and lightning as well?"

"Sort of...all I did really was make him eat lightning..."

"You did what?" Makarov yelled at him.

'Well, I didn't really do anything...he was the one who taught himself how to do that, I just provided him with the lightning...who would have thought that such a result would happen by doing so...' He smirked as Makarov continued to yell at him.

* * *

><p>The flames that Natsu was emitting grew and grew as the hand on the clock continued to count down. Suddenly, the flames became so big that everyone was engulfed in them.<p>

"Hey Natsu! Wait a minute! What are you..." Some of them shouted as they felt his flames on them. However, they felt no pain except for a nice warm feeling.

"Hey...these flames...they don't hurt..." Gray stated as he didn't feel nothing but a warm sensation.

"Yeah...you right..." Elfman added.

"...it feels...nice..." Mirajane added, blushing a bit.

"...but what are these yellow flames...?" Lucy asked.

"...I hope Natsu knows what he is doing...?" Happy whispered recognizing the yellow colored flames. Erza however was able to hear him and frowned.

'Natsu...'

Unfortunately, the flames went away and the others groaned at the loss of the warm sensation that came with the flames. They slowly receded back into his fists. He raised his head and looked at Alastor. "It's time to finish this..."

"Oh...let's see then..." He smirked and pointed his red sword at Natsu. He then charged at the dragon slayer and swung his sword down on him. Natsu clenched his fist and punched the sword as it created a spark between the two attacks. 4 minutes remained on the clock above his head. Alastor withdrew his sword and swung at it again, only for it to be blocked again by Salamander's fist. This went on as Alastor's main purpose was to waste time.

However, Natsu wasn't going to let him do that. After he blocked one swing, he grabbed the sword with the next attack and squeezed his hand, causing the magic sword to disperse. With it gone, Alastor's eyes widened and Natsu was going on the offensive. "Crimson Lotus: Fire Dragon's Fist!" He shouted and delivered several rapid punches at the red haired man. He blocked some of the punches, but a few managed to make contact with his body.

He had enough and flapped his wings to create some distance between himself and the dragon slayer "I had enough of you...all I have to do is last a few more minutes...I guess I could test out that move...

"Well...I won't let you!"

"Hmph, cheeky bastard!" He raised his arm. Natsu watched as dark magic began forming on top of his palm. The dark magic started to form into a sphere that grew bigger and bigger with every second that passed. Natsu figured he was going to do something big and charged at him before he could finish preparing his attack. He used his flames as thrusters to fly up to him and made the flames on his fists grow bigger.

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" He shouted preparing to throw a punch.

"Like I would let you stop me!" He raised his other arm and dark magic began forming in that hand. "Dark Magic: Dark Cannon!" A blast of dark magic shot out of his hand as Natsu tried blocking it with his flames. He managed to do so, but the force of the attack forced him back down. He gritted his teeth before making his flames bigger and then swiped the attack away, causing it to disperse. However, it did give Alastor enough time to finish the preparation for his next attack.

The ball of dark magic was fairly large as everyone watched in anticipation to see what was going to happen next. Natsu knew he didn't have time to stand around and do nothing. He looked up to see he had less than three minutes before his time ran out. Natsu thrust up toward him. Alastor saw him and smirked. The large ball of dark magic began shrinking. This surprised some of them. The ball shrunk to the size of a golf ball. He lowered his hand and down and pointed it at Natsu. "Dark Magic...Taking his other hand, he flicked the small ball of dark magic at him. "...DEATH SPHERE!"

It came at Natsu very quickly and he was just barely able to dodge it. "Hah! You missed!" He smirked. However, Alastor snickered.

"Idiot! Whoever said I was aiming for you?" Natsu's eyes widened.

'Don't tell me...his target was...' He turned around and changed direction to go back after the attack. The demon only chuckled as he watched the clock above Natsu's head continue to count down until his death. 'Damn it...I got to hurry!'

"EVERYONE! GET AS FAR FROM HERE AS YOU CAN!" Erza shouted toward the others. They didn't need to be told twice as they realized themselves that they were the target of the demon's attack after what he just told Natsu. They quickly ran as fast as they could.

"Quick! We have to get away!" Gray told the group he was with.

"But what about Natsu?" Lucy shouted.

"He'll be fine!" He shouted back.

"But..."

"He's right Lucy..." Happy told her. She looked at him and saw the look of determination on his face. "Natsu will be alright...believe in him." She stared at him before nodding her head and followed after the others. Erza looked back and clenched her fists as she felt useless for the first time in a long while, but she had no choice but to trust Natsu. Her first priority after all was to make sure the others were safe.

Natsu quickly descended down to the attack. He was able to catch up to it, but he was very close to the ground. He did the only thing he could think of at the moment and wrapped his arms around the ball of dark magic. Then a large explosion occurred. Everyone watched in horror as the blast radius was big, but none of them were caught in, but the large burst of wind made them cover their eyes and hold onto to something for dear life.

"NATSU!" Many of his fellow guild members shouted as the shaking settled down. A very large cloud smoke shrouded the area of the blast.

"Natsu..." Lucy whispered as she searched for him in the smoke cloud. Mirajane clutched her hands in worry as well as she placed them on her chest, hoping she wouldn't have to be heart broken like when Lisanna died. Alastor had a smirk on his demonic face.

It seemed like it took forever before the smoke cloud dispersed and with it gone, everyone's eyes widened as they saw Natsu standing on his two feet, but his body did not look okay. There was blood everyone and many wondered how he was able to even stand, much less even be alive.

"Natsu..." Levy put her hands in front of her mouth as she felt tears forming in her eyes.

"That guy..." Wakabe muttered in shock.

"Wow! I can't get enough of how impressive you are. It's no wonder why he is so fond of you..." He whispered the last part as Natsu started turning his head. "But it looks like I don't have to worry much longer..." He said as the clock above Natsu was very close to making a full turn.

"Natsu! Quick! Defeat that guy! Your running out of time!" Gray shouted.

"I know that pervert..." Natsu muttered as he looked up and glared at Alastor. His body began glowing the same yellow color as his flames were. "WRAAAHHHHHHHH!" Natsu roared as he clenched his fists and his feet destroyed the ground that wasn't destroyed by the death sphere.

"I don't know what you are going to do, but all I have to is stop you!" He created a red colored bow and arrow and aimed hundreds of arrows at the dragon slayer "Take this!" He shouted and shot the arrows.

"WRAAAAAHHHHH!" Natsu roared once again and with all the strength that remained in his bloody body, he shot upward toward Alastor. His eyes widened in shock at how fast and powerful he was coming toward him. He was easily destroying the arrows like grains of rice and he didn't have any time for him to dodge. The only thing he could do was block and hope he didn't lose consciousness until the clock ran out of time. So, he raised his arms and prepared for impact. "HIDDEN FIRE FORM! CRIMSON LOTUS: PHOENIX BLADE!" Natsu delivered a devastating punch that Alastor couldn't handle and the attack connected which sent both men crashing into the destroyed Phantom Guild building.

"Natsu!" Everyone shouted as they witnessed the attack cause an explosion. They were stunned at what they saw. It was almost unbelievable. They were speechless. They couldn't even begin to explain what they saw. It was just breathtaking, but there was only one thing on everyone's mind. Did Natsu win? They waited for some time, hoping something would happen, but nothing did.

'Don't tell me...' Erza began to panic and quickly took off toward the destroyed building. The others saw her and Gray let go of Elfman's arm and followed after her. She needed him after all to create a bridge of ice toward the building. However, they stopped when someone zipped past them. Erza was able to see just barely who it was and stopped. Gray stopped as well and turned to her.

"Who was that?"

"That was..." A small smile formed on her face.

* * *

><p>"I told him not to worry..." The man spoke as he then took a drink. "But he sure was impatient. He took off as soon as he saw Natsu connect with that attack. So...what did you think...Alastor?"<p>

The man spat out blood as he reverted back to his human form and looked at the man. "He...he has the potential...but..."

"Yeah...I know...he's still not strong enough...by the way..." He turned his head to look at him. "What in the world were you thinking of using that curse on him? You know that there was a possibility that he could have died."

"Shut up old man...I figured if he was as good as you said he was, he would have defeated me before time ran out..."

"Please don;t call me that...but...it was still a dangerous move...however, you are lucky yourself...if I hadn't put that transportation spell on you, you could have suffered permanent damage."

"Don't expect a thanks from me...after all...it's your fault for turning me into this thing..."

"Hey...I told you that if you helped me I'd remove the curse...you just got one step closer to that..."

"Tch...whatever..." Alastor turned his head and sighed as he crossed his legs.

"Is the curse off of him?"

"Yeah...it is..."

"Good..."

"So now what do we do?"

"Nothing for the moment...you need to recover before we go any further in our plan..." He told him and began drinking from his bottle.

"There you two are!" Alastor cringed at the voice, while the man did a spit take. They turned their heads to see the woman with black hair standing on the roof with her hands on her waist. "What the hell have you two done?" She yelled at them.

"Eve...what a surprise..." The man chuckled nervously. Eve felt a vein pop in anger.

"Don't give me that!" She yelled as both of them were now on their knees in front of her as she began scolding them. "Do you have any idea what I had to go through to find you two?"

"We're sorry..." They bowed their heads in an apologetic manner.

"And another thing..." She continued to scold them as they continued to apologize in the same manner.

'Natsu...you still have a long and tough road ahead of you...but in due time you will face against the man who you are destined to face...and I will help you get that strength...but take a break for now...after all...you have to deal with something that might be even tougher than him...the heart of your maidens...' The man smirked.

"What the hell are you smirking about?" Eve shouted.

"I'm sorry..."

* * *

><p>Makarov searched the area, looking for one of his children. He finally was able to spot him sprawled out on his back. "Natsu!" He called out to him and rushed over. "Oi, Natsu!"<p>

"Are you okay, Gramps?" Makarov's eyes widened as he saw a smiling Natsu looking at him. What made him more surprised was the fact that he was asking him if he was okay? Hell, Natsu looked in way worse shape than he had ever seen.

"Don't worry about me, you idiot!" He shouted. "What about you? Are you okay?"

"Of course I am." Natsu chuckled with a big smile.

"You don't look like it..."

"Yeah...I guess not..." Makarov looked at him before laughing. "What's so funny?"

"It's nothing." He shook his head as his laughter died down. "I met him."

"Hm? Who?"

"The man who trained you the past two years."

"R-Really? Is he here?"

"No...I left him to see if you were okay."

"I see...that's too bad...there was something I wanted to ask him..."

"Natsu...just who is he?"

"To be honest...I don't know...when I was on my journey...I met him by accident and ever since then he began training me...thanks to him I was able to defeat that red haired guy...although...I don't see him anywhere...but it doesn't matter...I beat him and that's that." He grinned.

"I see...so you know nothing about him...do you at least know his name?"

"No..."

"No? You knew him for two years and you don't know his name?"

"Well, I asked him once, but he told me that it didn't matter what his name was because all that mattered was me getting stronger. Seems like a stupid reason to not tell a person your name if you ask me."

"Yeah...it is..." Makarov agreed. 'That man...just who is he?'

"Is everyone else okay?"

"Don't worry, they're all fine." Makarov answered with a warm smile on his face. Natsu let out a sigh of relief.

"That's good...hey...can you help me up? I feel a bit tired."

"Yeah...no problem."

"Oh and there is one more thing..." Makarov perked up wondering what else he wanted.

* * *

><p>The others waited for the return of Natsu. The wait was killing them. After waiting who knows how long, they were finally able to see Natsu come out of the building. Cheers erupted as they saw both Makarov and Natsu come out of the building with Natsu's arm over a taller form of the Master.<p>

"Way to go Natsu!"

"Thank goodness you're alive!"

"You did it!"

A horde of cheers were heard as Natsu gave them a huge grin as Makarov jumped and landed on the ground in front of the others. They all rushed toward them with wide smiles.

"I must admit you did pretty well for a someone who only has fire in the brain." Gray commented.

"Shut up ice boy." Natsu replied, but with a smile.

"He's right, Natsu." Erza added. "You were pretty amazing. Who would have thought you would become this strong so quickly." She smiled at him.

"Thanks...but it's all thanks to you guys...if I didn't have my friends I wouldn't have won..." He chuckled.

"You're making us blush you idiot!" One of them said as they erupted into laughter.

"Yeah...but even so...we couldn't protect the guild..." Someone said and that caused frowns to appear on some of their faces.

"I'm sorry...it's all my fault..." Everyone made a noise in surprise as they looked at Lucy. "If it wasn't for me...the guild would still be standing...I..." She shook and was about to cry.

"Lulu-chan..." Levy frowned at her friend.

"What are you talking about?" Lucy's eyes widened and lifted her head to look at Natsu who removed his arm from Makarov's shoulder as he shrunk back down to his regular height. He began walking toward her. "None of us blame you for what happened. You are a member of this guild and being so we will help you no matter what. We can always rebuild our guild. Fairy Tail is more than that. We are your friends and that's why no one holds you responsible. After all, you are a member of Fairy Tail." Lucy could feel the tears that she was trying to hold back come out in full storm as everyone smiled at her. Suddenly to everyone's surprise, Natsu wrapped his arms around her making the Celestial Spirit Mage to blush and slightly panic.

"Huh? N-Natsu..." Lucy made a sound of surprise when she heard him take deep breaths. She turned her head to look at him and saw that his eyes were closed. He was sleeping. She smiled warmly at him and wrapped her arms around his body. 'Arigatou...Natsu...'

**To Be Continued...**

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes<strong>: What can I say...I apologize to everyone who has been waiting for the next chapter, but I have been through tough times the last month or two...school work as well as finals and issues that I had to deal with concerning my family and stuff...but hopefully I got everything settled and will update very quickly from now on...after all it is summer vacation for college students.

Now that I'm done with this arc...I will be going into a filler arc that I hope you guys will like as it will advance the relationships between Natsu and the Harem before heading into the Jellal Arc.

So, once again I apologize and I hope you like this new chapter.


	18. Natsu, Cana, Lucy, Mirajane

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related which includes the characters of Fairy Tail.

**Rated M! You have been warned!**

**Not yet Edited! Will be soon!**

**Author Notes: ****HEY GUYS! PLEASE READ! **Before you go ahead and read the next chapter, I have some news to tell you. Apparently, we authors got confused by the rating known as M. Apparently, we cannot have anything sexual related with the M rating because it belongs under the MA rating, which this site does not allow, which to me is lame. Fanfiction, to me, should allow authors to give their own ideas to stories that they are fans of without any restrictions whatsoever. This helps us create ideas that can help express ourselves and have fun with writing. However, the creators of are planning to delete authors and stories that violate this rule, which includes some or most of my stories and possibly this one as well which I would hate to happen. So, to help us stop this, go to my profile page and copy and paste the paragraph in my profile to your own and then add your pen name, it would also be a good idea to pm Psudocode_Samurai to ask him/her to add your pen name to the list.

I am asking you this because of the fact that this might danger **Time is the Path to Strength** from getting deleted, which I and I know you readers don't want to happen. However, if you don't want to do that then please help us. So, just as an emergency in case they delete me and my stories, I will create a blog that will have all the chapters of everyone of my stories for you to read. Thank you for your time. Enjoy the chapter.

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><p><strong>Chapter 18: Natsu, Cana, Lucy, Mirajane<strong>

It's been two days since the battle between Natsu and Alastor. Two days since the Guild War between Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord ended. This was also the same time period that our friendly neighborhood Dragon Slayer has been sleeping, recovering from his big fight against the red haired demon. Since the guild was destroyed and in the process of being rebuilt, Natsu was staying at the Magnolia Hospital. Many of the Guild Members visited him during the two days he was sleeping and the guild member that was currently with him, by his bed side, was Mirajane.

She hummed and smiled as she put new flowers into a vase that was on top of a bed table next to him. Once she finished, she looked at the sleeping Dragon Slayer and gave him a warm smile. She sat down on her chair and picked up a plate with a knife and apple on it. She placed it on her lap and started to peel the skin off of the apple.

She stopped peeling halfway to look up at Natsu. She was so happy that he was okay after what happened to him. When she watched the fight with Alastor, she was not only impressed but amazed at how powerful Natsu has become. She had never seen a fight like the one they all witnessed. She always knew Natsu was strong, there was no doubt about his strength, but to see just how powerful he became after two years was just incredible. There was also the fact that she knew she could count on him. He just had that special trait that you could count on him. That he would be there to save the day. He sure showed that. She wasn't there when he woke up, but she heard about it from the others. To her, I must have been a remarkable sight.

"You really are amazing...Natsu..." She blushed as she said that. She took a closer look at his face and saw how much he has grown. She remembered when they were kids, how cute Natsu looked, especially when he cried. She loved to tease him, but it wasn't like she did it to be mean or anything, she just loved seeing how angry he got because it just made him look even cuter. Maybe she did it so that she could see him cry, but she would never admit that. However, now that he was older, she was noticing just how much manlier he has become. "You really are strong..." She didn't know why, but she felt kind of uneasy saying that. It could have been because of what happened with Lisanna. She remembered Natsu wanting to go with them on that request, but she refused because she didn't think he was strong. Yet, she wondered why she took both Elfman and Lisanna with her. She looked down at her hands with a frown.

Ever since then, she regretted the decision of not bringing Natsu along. She didn't know if it would have made a difference with the outcome, but she was sure that it would have done something. She truly believed that it was her fault. The conversation she had with Natsu in front of Lisanna's grave helped her a lot, but there was still that part in her heart that made her blame herself. Suddenly, she heard a groan coming from the bed in front of her and she quickly raised her head.

Natsu slowly began opening his eyes. The first thing he saw was the white ceiling. He blinked to adjust his vision. Once it was clear, he yawned. He quickly sat up and stretched his arms up. "Aww man...how long did I sleep?" He asked to no one but himself, thinking he was the only one on the room.

"About two days..."

Natsu made a noise in surprise at Mirajane's voice as he did not notice her there at all. "Mira...wow...I didn't even see you there...you kind of surprised me..." She giggled.

"Sorry about that."

"Ah...no...it's alright...so two days, huh?" She nodded her head.

"Yep!"

"How are the others?"

"They're helping out with the construction of the guild." She told him. "I made the plans for the new guild that they're using." She told him with a lot of pride in her blue print.

Natsu chuckled remembering the design she came up with, which was dissed by Gray, but turned out to be really good after the new Guild was rebuilt. "I'm sure the guild will turn out great!" Mirajane blushed.

"Thank you. How about you?" She asked.

"I'm hungry..." She couldn't help but giggle, fully expecting him to say that.

"Alright then! I don't have anything that might help fill that stomach of yours, but I'll try to get you something when we go back to the guild. For now, how about some apples?" She told him and he nodded in understanding. He waited patiently for her to finish peeling and cutting the apple in her hand to pieces. When she was done, she handed him the plate and then started peeling the next apple in the basket next to her, while he ate.

Natsu threw a slice in his mouth and chowed down on it. He opened his eyes and took a look at the former Majin. He saw her smiling while peeling the apple and thought back to the conversation he had with Elfman. The reason he talked to Elfman in the first place was because he knew what happened to him during this war. He almost lost control of his powers and the last time he did that, Lisanna died. He knew that it worked out in the end, but seeing how everything he thought he knew was not the same, he didn't want to risk anything happening to his friends. Natsu remembered what the younger Strauss sibling told him about Mirajane.

_Then...when you were gone for the past two years...Nee-chan's expression became worse..._

_Nee-chan wasn't the same when both you and Lisanna were gone._

_...when you returned...I don't see that look on her face anymore...she has been more happier than usual..._

He didn't know if what Elfman said was true, but he could tell that Mirajane was a bit different. He couldn't really put a finger on it. He could try asking her, but wondered if he would be stepping on something personal. This was something new to him so he couldn't give wise advice like Makarov could, but even someone like him can help her.

Mirajane noticed him staring at her and blinked. "What is it, Natsu?"

"Hm? Oh...ah nothing..." He looked back down to his plate, blushing from the embarrassment of staring at her for too long.

'Is he...blushing...?' Mirajane couldn't help but smile. She thought he looked cute when he cried, but when she saw him blushing, it was cute on a whole new different level. She wanted to just stand up and hug him, but resisted seeing as he just woke up from a tough battle. She quickly finished peeling and cutting the apple before placing them on his plate. "Here you go!"

"Thank you, Mira!" He said and grabbed another slice. He noticed that Mirajane picked up another one and was getting ready to peel the skin off, but he stopped her. "You don't have to do that anymore, Mira."

"Eh? But I want to and besides you need to eat after sleeping for two whole days." She told him, pouting a bit, but also being stern.

"Ah...but..."

"No buts!" She told him.

"R-Right..." Natsu couldn't argue with her. He didn't know why, but he just couldn't. He sighed and just let her do what she wanted.

He didn't know how many apples she had in the basket, but he knew it had to be more than ten. It's not like he didn't mind what she was doing for him, in fact he was grateful, but he just didn't want to burden her. After eating all the apples, Mirajane finally let him get out of bed.

"So...how do you feel?" She asked, smiling at him.

"I'm great!" He exclaimed in excitement. "I can't wait to see the others!" He told her and she giggled.

"I'm sure they'll be excited to see you too." He grinned and scratched the back of his head. "Shall we go?"

"Yeah!" He shouted with a fist pump. He took one step, one single step and his foot accidentally caught the end of the blanket that was dangling from the bed and he crashed down to the floor, bringing Mirajane along with him. Natsu groaned in pain as he managed to catch himself with his arms. "Damn...hey Mira are you-" He stopped when he saw the look on Mirajane's face. Her hair was sprawled all over the floor and he could see the slight pink hue on her cheeks. Her eyes were wide as she looked up at him.

Mirajane was frozen in place. She could feel her heart beating against her chest as she looked up at the pink haired Dragon Slayer. Her cheeks felt warm and found it difficult to breathe with him on top of her. She wanted to say something, but her mouth just wouldn't move. She suddenly felt her entire body get hot under him. 'Why am I feeling this way...?' She wondered. 'It's so hot...but why...?' When she looked at his face, she could see his cheeks turn red again. 'He's blushing again...I wonder if...'

Natsu's eyes widened when he suddenly felt her hand touching against his cheek. "M-Mira...what are you...?" He couldn't finish his sentence as he watched her put on a big smile on her face.

'His cheek...it's warm...' She couldn't help but smile at that. She felt this weird tingling sensation in her chest and it only increased the moment she made eye contact with him. "Natsu...I..." She was finally able to make words come out of her mouth. Natsu wondered what she was going to say next, but the door to the room suddenly opened and a woman's voice echoed throughout it.

"Natsu-san! I'm here to give you your daily checkup!" A nurse exclaimed with a wide smile on her face. When she saw that his bed was empty, she tilted her head in confusion. "Natsu-san!" She called out while looking all over the room.

"Ah! I-I'm here..." Natsu suddenly popped out as he chuckled nervously at the nurse.

"Oh! There you are! I was worried you left the hospital without being medically clear to do so. After all, you did suffer some pretty serious wounds that had to heal. By the way, why were you on the flo-" She stopped walking and talking after she saw Mirajane on the floor with him position in front of her. She guessed in what position Natsu was in before getting up and blushed. She lifted her clip board and used it to cover her blushing face. "I see..." She mumbled into her clip board. She then suddenly started scurrying away. "I'm sorry for interrupting..."

"Ah! Wait a minute! Where are you-" Before he could finish, she closed the door behind her, leaving a confused Natsu and a blushing Mirajane in the room. He sighed before turning back around to look at Mirajane who was now sitting up. They made eye contact before looking away, both blushing a bit. 'W-What is going on with me...?' He wondered, not sure what was happening. 'I haven't felt like this since...' He slightly widened his eyes. '...since Lisanna...' He wondered if the way he was feeling now and the way he felt back then were the same. He wasn't too sure, but it wasn't like he didn't mind this feeling. He turned his head to look at her and then sighed. He stood up and walked over to her. "Mira...let's go find that nurse and go see the others." He told her. She looked up at him and both blushed once more before she nodded her head and took his hand.

They found the nurse, who was still blushing after what she saw and after convincing her that nothing happened, she gave Natsu his checkup. When she was done, she told him to not do anything that might give too much stress on his body. He nodded and they both left the hospital.

* * *

><p>The walk back to the guild was a relatively quiet one. Both of them were too nervous to break the silence. Natsu felt a bit agitated at the silence between each other, but figured it would have been better to keep silent so that he didn't bother or surprise Mirajane. He never was in a situation like this anyway so he didn't really even know what to say.<p>

Mirajane on the other hand wanted Natsu to be the one to break the silence. However, she also didn't want him to do it. She felt many mixed emotions that it might be better just to be quiet. She could still feel the warmth in her cheeks and wondered if her blush was visible as well. She really didn't want to have the others worry. They might think she was sick and blame Natsu and that was something she didn't want to happen. So, she did her best to try and calm down her heart and cool down her cheeks.

When they arrived at the Guild, or Guild being constructed area, Natsu was greeted with cheers at his recovery.

"Yo! It's Natsu! He's awake!"

"Natsu! You feeling alright?"

"It's good to see you awake!"

Natsu couldn't help but grin in happiness at the warm reception he got from everyone. "Yo! Everyone! I'm back!" He shouted.

"Like we wanted you back...it was much nicer when you were asleep..." Gray smirked as he walked up to him.

"What was that, ice boy?" Natsu glared at Gray. Mirajane only giggled at them as the two of them were now glaring at each other.

"Are you two arguing again?" Both mages stopped and put their arms around the other as they looked at Erza with nervous expressions on their face.

"No...not at all Erza..." Gray chuckled nervously. "Ain't that right, Natsu?"

"Aye!"

"I see...well it's good to see you alright, Natsu." Erza smiled and then turned to Mirajane. "When did he wake up?"

"Hmm..." Mirajane put a finger to her chin and thought about it. "I think about an hour ago..."

"I see...is he alright then?" She whispered.

"Yeah, he's fine. The nurse just told him not to do anything that might cause too much stress." She replied, while both Natsu and Gray were glaring at each again behind Erza's back.

"Yeah...that makes sense. You hear that Natsu!" She turned her head and the two went back to hugging each other.

"Aye!" He responded sounding like Happy.

"Gray, that means that we have to do double the work." She told him.

"Huh?" His jaw dropped to the ground at what she told him while Natsu snickered behind him.

"Let's go!" The scarlet knight told him and Gray walked behind her with his head down in disappointment, as Juvia looked at him from afar with heart shaped eyes. Natsu saw her and smirked before walking over to the area the others set up for guild members to rest up and eat. Mirajane followed and told him that she was going to get the food she promised ready and he grinned at her in excitement. She blushed again and before she went off to get him the food, the sound of a familiar voice echoed throughout the entire area.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! I can't believe how low this guild has gotten! It makes me sick seeing how weak and useless you all are!" Laxus laughed as he had his arms crossed against his chest and right leg over his left. "I mean come on, all of you could have at least defended the Guild!"

"Laxus..." Mirajane growled in anger as she clenched her fist.

"Calm down, Mira..." Natsu whispered to her. She looked at him with a worried expression.

"But..." He looked at her and smiled. He then began walking again.

"And all of this was because of the new girl! It's quite a shame!" Lucy, who was sitting in a chair in front of the newly made bar frowned and clenched the hem of her skirt. Laxus received many glares from the others as he only continued to laugh. It was then that he spotted Natsu approaching and smirked. "And would you look who arrived, the hero!" The others turned their heads and smiled at the sight of Natsu. Lucy had the biggest smile of them all as she was glad Natsu was awake and feeling better. Happy was the happiest flying cat in the whole world.

"NATSU!" He shouted.

Natsu stopped and looked at Laxus. He then smiled at him. "Yo Laxus! What's up?"

"Oh...aren't you all so cheerful. Well, it's not surprising that you are, after all you are the hero that saved the day. I was impressed when I heard all the talk about how awesome you were. But honestly, the only thing I managed to catch from all that talking was the fact that you got your ass kicked by Phantom. I mean how can you lose to someone like Phantom. If I remember, everyone was talking about how much stronger you were than me, but you almost got killed by Phantom. Hahahahahaha! I knew you were weak."

"Laxus!" Mirajane shouted as she glared at him.

"That's enough Laxus!"

"Yeah...how can you be so heartless?"

Laxus only laughed at them. More yells were heard and that caused the ones who were working on the guild to head over to the eating area to see what was going. Lucy only frowned as she felt guilty that Natsu was being laughed and mocked by Laxus. She also felt angry, but she believed she had no right to yell at Laxus, especially at someone who was as strong as he was.

Natsu raised his hand and when everyone saw this, they stopped yelling and looked at him. Laxus smirked as he waited for what the pink haired Dragon Slayer was going to say. "Your right." Everyone gasped at what he said. However, he continued. "I was weak. I was too weak to do anything and because of that I almost died. I was too scared...scared of my own power. However, someone made me realize that my power is nothing to be scared of as long as I can control it. Thanks to him, I was able to control my power and saved the Guild. You can laugh at me, I don't care because I know you are right."

"Natsu...w-what are you saying...?"

Makarov eyed Natsu from his seat a top of a large pile of lumber and waited for what he was going to say next.

Lucy on the other hand was shaking and had tears threatening to fall down her cheeks.

"However..." Natsu once again spoke and she lifted her head to look at him. Everyone's eyes widened. Even Laxus had no choice but to widen his eyes at the glare Natsu was giving him. "...DON'T YOU DARE LAUGH OR BLAME LUCY FOR ANY OF THIS!" Lucy gasped and the tears started to fall, but not from sadness or guilt, but from happiness. Laxus was stunned at the tone Natsu used against him. So stunned that he couldn't say anything in response. He gritted his teeth and scoffed before standing up and walking away from everyone.

"Just wait...all of you just wait..." He mumbled in anger as he was walking. Once he was out of hearing distance, everyone let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Wow...that was...amazing...

"Did you see Laxus's face?"

"Yeah, I never seen him so scared."

Natsu sighed. 'Well, I guess I had to do that...man...I can't wait for him to be nicer again...I hate this Laxus...'

Makarov chuckled and smiled at the way Natsu handled himself with his own Grandson. Natsu only continued to impress more and more with every single action he did.

Lucy moved her hands to wipe her tears away as Natsu was walking up to her.

"Natsu!" Happy exclaimed and flew to hug his best friend. Natsu chuckled in response to the flying cat's hug.

"It's good to see you too , Happy." He smiled at him.

"Aye! That was so cool the way you told Laxus off." He grinned and started to mimic the way Natsu told Laxus off. Natsu could only chuckled at his best friend's antics. He then turned toward Lucy.

"Natsu...I..." Lucy started, but was having trouble getting her words out.

"Hey cheer up! I told you before didn't I? No one is blaming you for what happened. Don't listen to what that idiot said." He told her, trying to comfort her. The Celestial Spirit Mage lifted her head and blushed when she looked at him. He grinned and it became contagious as she too smiled back.

"Yeah..." She responded with a nod as her tears stopped. Lucy was finally convinced. Thanks to Natsu's words, she found the answer she was waiting for. She smiled at Natsu. "Thank you, Natsu! I finally know what to do!"

"Great!" He grinned back. "W-Wait...do what?" He asked confused. He then remembered that this was a very important moment for Lucy. This was when she told her father that she was going to stay with Fairy Tail. He didn't know if he helped her or not, but he hoped he did.

"It's nothing...don't worry about it." She told him and giggled.

"O-Okay then..." He scratched the back of his head.

"That was very impressive Natsu." Erza suddenly said as she walked up to the three, with Gray right behind her. "I wouldn't have never expected to see such a reaction from Laxus. I guess you see something new everyday."

"I guess you did alright, flame brain..." Gray responded feeling a bit jealous at the fact that his rival was able to make Laxus look like a scared child.

"Well, I got tired of him making fun of others. Someone had to say something." He told them.

"Yeah, I guess your right." Erza agreed.

"Natsu! Here's your meal!" The pink haired mage grinned from ear to ear at the mention of food and turned around to see Mirajane walking over to the group with a plate of flame food on a tray.

"Sweet! I'm hungry!" He exclaimed and licked his lips in anticipation of a great meal.

"Hey Natsu..." Natsu reverted his attention from the food at the mention of his name. Before he could even see who it was or even say anything, he felt something on his lips. His eyes widened when he realized what just happened. He heard the sound of collective gasps and screams, as well as the sound of a plate clanging against the ground. The one who was kissing him was none other than Cana.

Natsu was too stunned to do anything. It was like his entire body froze. No matter how much strength he had, none of it was enough to even lift a finger at the sudden kiss. He was so shocked that he wasn't even sure if he was alive. In fact, he could hear or feel his heart beating at all.

Soon enough, Cana pulled away from the kiss, leaving a blushing, shocked Natsu standing there. Cana smirked at him and then gave him a wink. "What you did to Laxus was so cool that I really had no choice but to give you a kiss." She told him.

"W-W-W-W-What...?" Was the only thing that Natsu could say.

"Did I just see that?"

"I can't believe Cana just kissed Natsu..."

"The lucky bastard!"

"I thought I would never see the day..."

The ones who didn't say anything were too shocked. Gray's cheeks were a slightly tinted red with his jaw dropping to the floor. While from afar, Juvia blushed at the kiss and started to imagine Gray kissing her like that until she fainted. Happy was as shocked as Gray. Erza blushed many different shades of red at the kiss and looked like she was shaking. Lucy was also blushing, but she felt a strong pain in her chest that she couldn't explain why. Mirajane was too stunned to do anything. She didn't even care about the fact that the food that was on the plate she dropped on the ground getting covered in dirt. She was blushing, but felt something she never thought she would feel about the pink haired Salamander. She was jealous.

"I got to admit though, I never thought I would see you as someone who was cool. However, you sure have impressed me with how cool you have been lately." Cana was telling him. "Oh...by the way...was that your first kiss?" The entire area became tense at the question. Everyone wanted to know the answer to that question. Lucy, Erza, Cana and Mirajane were the ones who wanted to know the answer to that question than anybody else. Natsu blushed at the question.

'W-Why is this happening to me? W-Why would Cana suddenly kiss me and then ask me such a question? Ah, this doesn't make any sense! There was no way she would have kissed me back then, so why now?' Natsu gulped, feeling nervous for the first time in a very long time. In fact, he never remembered the last time he was so nervous. He knew he had to answer the question. He knew that they would know if he was lying or not. If he wasn't so nervous then maybe he could lie, but the problem was that he was nervous. He thought about telling them that it wasn't his first kiss, but it could make the situation worse by being bombarded with more questions. There really was no win-win situation. "T-That..." He began as everyone leaned forward almost at the same time.

"Well...Natsu..." Cana asked, smirking seductively as she leaned a bit closer to him.

'Ah man...I have no choice...' He gulped once more and prayed that the consequence wasn't going to be as painful as he thought it would be. "Y-Yes...that was my first kiss..." He finally revealed. The entire area grew silent as a slight breeze blew by everyone. Cana's seductive smirk grew wider.

"Really now? Well then...I'm glad to have been your first." She told him and winked.

"Ummm..." Natsu really didn't know how to respond to that.

"That was Natsu's first kiss?"

"I can't believe we actually witnessed something like that!"

"Our Natsu is growing up!"

"Lucky bastard..."

"Natsu..." Erza growled as he turned his head to look at her. He shook in fear as he saw a demonic aura around her.

"W-W-W-Wait a minute Erza...this wasn't...Lucy...help me..." He turned to the Celestial Spirit Mage for help. He saw her blushing face, but instead of answering to him, she turned her head in embarrassment. "Lucy...Happy!" He turned to his best friend for help, but he was petrified at the sight of Natsu getting kissed. 'Crap...he's not gonna help either!' He turned to Gray despite not wanting to. The Ice Make Mage saw him look in his direction and smirked.

"Sorry hot head...you're on your own..." Natsu gritted his teeth in anger at him. He then turned to Mirajane, who he knew would help him if he was in trouble. "Hey Mira...tell Erza that..." He stopped when he saw Mirajane. His eyes widened and he made a noise in surprise as she was looking down at the ground with her eyes narrowed and what seemed to look like tears in her eyes. 'Mira...w-why are you...'

"I'm sorry Natsu..." She spoke and closed her eyes before running away. Natsu's eyes widened further when he saw droplets of her tears fall from her eyes when she turned. He couldn't believe that Mirajane reacted like this with Cana kissing him. He wanted to go run after her, but he met Erza's wrath and everyone cringed as they watched her pummel him.

Cana noticed Mirajane's reaction and frowned. 'Crap...I might have hurt Mira's feelings...but...hey all's fair in love and war...right?' She wondered if she should have thought something like that as Natsu's screams of pain were heard behind her.

Makarov witnessed the whole thing with interest in his eyes. He was shocked at the fact that Cana kissed him, but what intrigued him was the way the three other girl's reacted. 'Oh boy...Natsu...you have entered something every man wishes he had and something that no man wants as well...I wonder if I should give him some advice...' He suddenly felt a shiver run down his spine. 'W-What was that...I wonder if I'm getting a cold...'

* * *

><p>Mirajane didn't know why she suddenly ran, but she did. 'Why...why do I feel this way?' She wondered. She finally stopped running and hid behind the large pile of lumber that was set up for the construction of their guild. She leaned her back against the lumber. 'I just don't understand...'<p>

"Is there something wrong, my dear?" Mirajane's eyes widened and turned her head to see Makarov smiling at her.

"Oh...Master...it's nothing..." She responded. Makarov very well knew she was lying. He could tell she was lying. It wasn't just that he saw what happened, but he could tell from the sound of her voice. To say he was shocked wasn't really the word to describe what he was feeling. Lucy, Erza, Mirajane and now even Cana. He didn't know what happened or why it was, but from what he could tell they were acting differently when Natsu was involved. From his own personal experience, he understood what this meant. It may not have been love, but he was sure from the way they all reacted to the kiss that they started developing feelings for Natsu. That was the most shocking part of it all. There was nothing really wrong with that, but it just felt strange.

"Come on now...you know better than to keep things bottled up...you can talk to me..." He reassured her.

"I know...but..."

"I understand..." He said and started walking away. "However...it is best if you go talk to Natsu...I'm sure that if you do...you'll feel much better..." He smiled at her while he continued to walk.

"Okay...Master..." Mirajane frowned and lowered her head. 'Natsu...'

* * *

><p>"Ow...Erza really doesn't know how to hold back..." Natsu groaned in pain. "Thankfully she didn't reopen any wounds..." He sighed as he rubbed his slightly swollen cheek.<p>

"A-Aye..." Happy responded, stuttering a bit as he flew next to Natsu.

"What's wrong?" He asked his best friend.

"I'm still shocked about the kiss..." Natsu blushed and looked away.

"Yeah I just don't get her..." Natsu responded.

"Your blushing Natsu...oooh you like her..."

"Shut up!" He yelled back at his teasing. 'Just you wait...once Carla gets here...I'll be teasing you endlessly...' He chuckled.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing..."

"Come on tell me!"

"Nope!"

"Come on!" Happy shouted flailing his arms up and down. The two of them continued their antics as they walked, but Natsu still couldn't quite understand Mirajane's reaction to the kiss. It just seemed so weird to him. He knows that he had to talk to her, but he felt kind of uneasy of doing so. What if she hated him now? He panicked at the thought of her being angry with him. He sighed and let his head hang. "What's wrong now, Natsu?"

"Nothing..." He said in a tone that said depressed all over it. Happy sweat dropped.

As the two of them were walking down the road, a man wearing a black hooded cloak was walking in the opposite direction toward them. When he stood next to Natsu, he whispered something to him. "You should be careful...or otherwise...your maiden's heart will be mine..." Natsu's eyes widened at the man's words and quickly turned around, only to see that the man disappeared.

"W-What the...?"

"Hmm? What is it, Natsu?" Happy asked, wondering why he stopped.

"No...it's nothing..." He replied before walking again. 'Who the hell was that? What did he mean by that?' Natsu turned his head back to see if he could see the man again, but there was no sight of him. He didn't know what was going to happen, but he had to be very cautious.

His attention was soon gone as he froze in place. He stared at the person in front of him with slightly widened eyes. "H-hey...Lucy..." The Celestial Spirit Mage looked at Natsu and the memory of his kiss with Cana resurfaced in her head. She bit her bottom lip, closed her eyes and walked past him. "Huh? Ah! Wait...Lucy!" He called out to her, but as he did, she quickened her pace. "Luce!"

"Leave me alone!" She shouted.

"But wait! I didn't do anything!" Natsu tried to tell her.

"Lucy is jealous..." Happy teased.

"What was that, you cat?" She glared at him causing Happy to shriek in fear and hide behind Natsu.

"Lucy is scary..."

"Come on Luce! I didn't do anything! Cana was the one who kissed me!" Natsu tried to reason with her.

"So what? It's not like you did anything to stop her!" She shouted. She didn't know why she was angry nor why she was blaming Natsu for what happened when it clearly was Cana the one who kissed him.

"W-What was I supposed to do? I was in shock! I couldn't do anything!" He told her, but Lucy still couldn't forgive him. "Come on Luce!" He walked up to and placed a hand on her shoulder, hoping it could calm her down. At the feeling of his hand on her shoulder, Lucy blushed and quickly spun around before kicking him in the groin area. Natsu screamed in pain as he grabbed his groin and feel down onto his knees. Lucy realized what she just did, flailed her arms around and started to panic.

"I'm so sorry Natsu...I..I..." She didn't know what she could say and did the only thing that came to her mind. She turned around and ran. "I'm so sorry Natsu!" She yelled again as she left an ailing Natsu and shocked Happy behind.

"Are you okay, Natsu?" Happy asked.

"Ghfhjsj..." He grumbled in pain.

"Sorry...I can't understand you..."

* * *

><p>By the time Natsu recovered, the sun was setting in the distance. Everyone who saw him walk, looked at like he was weird. This was mostly because of the way he was walking. Due to the intense pain that Lucy inflicted on him, he had a hard time walking normally and each step he took made the pain worse. "I can't believe this is happening to me..." He lowered his head.<p>

"You sure have bad luck today, Natsu." Happy said the obvious.

"You don't have to point that out." He sweat dropped as the two of them were walking toward their home. "I just want the day to end. Hopefully tomorrow will be better."

"Aye!"

However, his day was not getting any better. Both of them were in total shock at what they saw when they got home. Their eyes were as wide as saucers and jaws dropped all the way to the floor. They just couldn't believe their eyes. Their home was no longer there. It was burned to the ground. "W-W-WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO OUTR HOUSE?" Natsu screamed in horror.

"No! My things! What happened to my things?" Happy cried out.

"What the hell is going on? Who the hell did this?" He yelled in anger and rushed toward his burned down house. He started digging and searching to see if anything survived, but no matter how much he searched, he saw nothing except for debris. Natsu sighed. Today really wasn't his day.

"N-Natsu...w-what do we do?" Happy asked with a frown on his face.

"I don't know Happy..." He sighed when he said that. 'Who could have done this...? Wait a minute...could it have been that guy?' Natsu looked down. 'That bastard...no...I don't have any proof that he did it...in any case it seems we won't be able to stay here for tonight...I could try Lucy, but she might kick me again and I really don't want to feel that excruciating pain again. Erza is out...I really don't want to get pummeled again. Gray is also out of the question. I really don't want to ask him for help. Oh man...what are we going to do?'

"Natsu..." He looked down at his best friend and gave him a reassuring smile. He placed his hand on top of his head.

"It's going to be okay Happy...come one, let's go." He told him and sat up. The two of them then headed back down to Magnolia.

* * *

><p>"What was the point of you burning his house to the ground?"<p>

"I thought this could give him a little push..."

"Push for what?"

"Hehehe...love is both a powerful and cruel thing my friend."

"Are you getting senile old man?" Alastor raised an eyebrow.

"I told you not to call me that."

"What about their belongings?"

"Oh...don't worry, they're right here." He said and took a small box.

"You're weird...so...what are you going to do next?

"We are gonna build him a new house."

"Huh?"

"See I have the blue prints right here." He showed Alastor.

"You suck you know that..."

"It's not the first time I heard that..."

* * *

><p>It was nightfall and most of the stores were closed. Happy and Natsu were walking in the streets with their heads down feeling depressed over what happened. They didn't have money to pay for a hotel room so they couldn't do anything but find a spot somewhere in the city to sleep for the night. Happy asked about staying with Lucy, but Natsu told him that he didn't want to get kicked again and give her some time to calm down after what happened.<p>

They eventually arrived in the park and both dropped down on the bench and let out simultaneous sighs. "I guess we have no choice but to sleep in the park for tonight."

"Aye."

"Well look at it this way...at least it can't get any worse, right?" Just like that, it started pouring.

"Natsu..."

"Don't. Say. Anything."

Mirajane was shocked by the sudden rainfall. Luckily she brought her umbrella with her as she went shopping, but she didn't expect it to rain so hard. She quickened her pace so that she could get home quickly before her dress got completely wet. As she was heading home, she suddenly stopped when she saw something at the corner of her eyes. Her eyes widened slightly at the sight of both Happy and Natsu sitting on the bench in the park in the pouring rain with their heads dropped down. She wasn't sure why they were there, but she had this feeling of guilt wash over her. She hesitated for a moment, but ignored the feelings she felt earlier and ran over to them. When she got behind them, she lifted her umbrella so that it covered all three of them as best as it could.

The two friends turned their heads to see Mirajane looking at them with a mixture of confusion and worry. "Natsu, Happy...what are you two doing out here in the rain?"

"Ah...Mira..." Natsu was the first to reply. The events that happened earlier that day resurfaced and it stopped him from saying anything else.

"Mira!" Happy cried as he hugged her. "Because of Natsu I'm having the worst day of my life!" He cried.

"Don't blame me!" He yelled. It only made matters worse as Happy cried even louder. Mirajane frowned at Natsu. "Ah...sorry...I just had a rough day..." He apologized and sighed.

"What happened?" She asked.

"After what happened with Cana, I met Lucy and she was still angry with me so she kicked me. Then when we went to go home...we found our house burn down." Mirajane gasped.

"W-What? But who would do such a thing?"

"I don't know...but in any case since we didn't have any money to got to a hotel...and I'm scared to ask Lucy to stay at her place...the park was our last resort. However, it then started raining and that is when you found us." Mirajane frowned at what he had to go through and figured that her overreaction didn't help him either. She just couldn't let the two of them stay in the rain.

"Come on." She suddenly said and both looked at her.

"Huh? Where?"

"It's not good for you if you stay here in the rain...you might catch a cold, so let's go back to my place." She offered, smiling at him.

"A-Are you sure...we don't want to intrude..."

"What are you talking about Natsu? We barge into Lucy's apartment all the time." Happy said.

"You do what?" Mirajane asked, looking shocked.

"Well...that's...that's because she..I mean...Gray and Erza do it too!" He blamed the others as he couldn't find an excuse for barging into Lucy's apartment all the time.

Mirajane giggled. "It's okay Natsu...I was just teasing you...I already know that you do that Lucy..."

"You do?"

"Yeah...she talks about that a lot..." She giggled. "Shall we go?"

"Yeah...thanks a lot Mira." Natsu thanked her with a big smile. With that, the three headed toward Mirajane's home.

* * *

><p>"Welcome to the Strauss Household." She greeted them as both Happy and Natsu excused themselves inside and out of the rain. This was the first time in who knows how long since Natsu was in Mirajane's house. In fact, he doubted that he ever came here. "Please make yourselves at home." She told them and placed the shopping bag on the counter.<p>

"Ah thank you!" They both said.

"Is Elfman here?" Natsu asked.

"No...he's away on a job request. He said he'll be back tomorrow." She replied and started to take out food from the bag.

"I see..." Natsu then made a sudden realization. 'Wait a minute...that means that me and Mira are going to alone...well Happy is here, but he's the type to fall asleep really quickly. Ah man...after what happened earlier that day what can I tell her...maybe she won't ask me about it...but I just get the feeling that I should talk to her about...but what If I do she might get angry at me...ah this is so confusing!' He scratched his head in frustration.

"Natsu? Are you okay?" Mirajane asked when she saw what he was doing.

"Huh? Y-Yeah I'm great! Hehehehe..." He chuckled nervously. He felt like an idiot the way he was acting. The day was not very kind to him.

"Okay...if you say so..." Mirajane frowned at the way he was acting. From the way she observed him, he looked nervous. She wondered why? 'Why is he so nervous?' She wondered. 'I mean it's just me and Natsu and...wait...me and Natsu...alone...why is my heart beating so fast all of a sudden?' She asked as she felt it beating against her chest and her face felt warmer than usual.

"Hey Mira...do you have any fish?" Happy suddenly asked as he jumped up onto the counter. Mirajane looked at him and then smiled.

"I'm sure I have some in the refrigerator." She told him and went to go look.

"Aren't we lucky, Natsu." Happy told him as the pink haired Dragon Slayer nodded his head. He sat down on the couch and started fidgeting with his fingers.

'Crap...why do I feel so uncomfortable being here? I was never like this when I was over at Lucy's apartment.' He pondered so hard that it made his head begin to hurt. He heard the cheerful voice of Happy as he looked over to see him eating one of three fishes that Mirajane brought over to him. He smiled, but was still feeling a bit uneasy.

"Are you sure you're okay, Natsu?" Mirajane asked him as he jumped a little in surprise.

"Yeah...I'm fine Mira..." He told her with a bit of a chuckle in his voice.

"Alright...here...I got you something too." She handed him a plate of food.

"Ah! Thanks Mira!" He accepted it and when he went to go take the plate, their hands accidentally touched one another. At the contact, both of them looked at each other with blushes on their face.

"What are you two doing?" Happy suddenly asked, taking a break between fishes.

"Huh? Nothing...!" Both shouted. Natsu quickly took the plate and placed it on the table in front of him. Both felt embarrassed at what just happened.

"Ummm...I'm going to go...take a bath..." She told them and walked toward the bathroom.

"R-Right..." Natsu responded to her as Happy watched his best friend.

"Hey Natsu...your face is red..." He pointed out.

"No it's not! You are just seeing things!" He retorted.

"Hmmm..." He hummed and took another fish. "Today sure has been weird..." He mumbled with the fish in his mouth."

"Yeah...you can say that..." He agreed and sighed while frowning.

* * *

><p>Mirajane didn't know what was going on with her. Her mind had nothing but Natsu in it and she wasn't exactly sure why. She didn't know exactly when she started feeling like this, but she assumed it began when Natsu returned. Maybe it was even back when they were kids, but she didn't think it went that far back. It was strange. The way she was acting was similar to the way she saw anyone else who had feelings for someone else. 'Do...I like Natsu?' She also felt something else when she thought about the pink haired Dragon Slayer. It was guilt.<p>

Mirajane felt guilty having these feelings for Natsu. She knew very well that her younger sister used to have feelings for Natsu and because of that, she felt guilty having these feelings for him. It was like she was betraying Lisanna. That was the last thing she wanted to do. She pressed her knees closer to her as the water in the tub moved along with her motions. She didn't know what to do. Should she try to fight back these feelings for Natsu or pursue them? She was so confused that it made her heart ache at the thought of picking one or the other. If she did pursue her feelings then she would feel like she was betraying her sister. If she fought them, then she would feel so bad that it would just make it difficult for her and Natsu to go back to what they were before she had these feelings.

She didn't know what to do. There was also the thing the Master told her. But how could she talk to him when her feelings were conflicting with one another. She never thought she would feel this way. She assumed she would eventually find the right guy, fall in love with him, get married, have kids and then live happily ever after. But she did find someone and the someone was someone who her younger sister had feelings for, heck, even might have been in love with him. She just couldn't do this. No matter how much the back of her mind was telling her it was okay because Lisanna was dead, she just couldn't. She had to forget about him. She couldn't betray her younger sister.

When Mirajane was done with her bath, she wrapped a towel around her. It was then that she noticed forget her pajamas. Her face got red at the realization. Should she walk out of the bathroom with just the towel. No, it would be too embarrassing especially with Natsu, the man who made her have these conflicting feelings in her home. 'What am I going to do?' She thought about it and there was really only on thing she could think of. "N-Natsu!"

Natsu raised his head at the sound of Mirajane calling her. He looked at Happy, who shrugged, and then stood up and walked in the direction her voice was calling from. "Mira! What's wrong?" He asked as walked toward the door.

"It may sound a bit of embarrassing...but...I forgot my pajamas and...I was hoping...you could go get them..." She asked, while blushing at her request. She heard a sound from the other side of the door and figured he must have been taken aback at her request. "C-Can you do it?"

"Uhh...y-yeah...s-sure..." He gulped. "W-Where's your room?"

"It's at the end of the hallway." She told him.

"O-Okay...I'll be right back..." He gulped once more and walked toward her room. He slowly opened it and took a peek inside. It looked like any other bedroom he ever seen before. He saw some stuff bears in one area of the room and wasn't that surprised by it. But if he saw this room three years ago, he would be shocked to see any stuff bears in her room. He slowly looked around and saw a shelf and assumed that's where her pajamas might have been. He opened the top shelf and his eyes widened as well as a large blush appeared on his face. The shelf he opened had a large pile of her bras. He had the look of horror as he couldn't believe his bad luck today. He quickly close the shelf and sighed. 'Damn it...why am I having such a crappy day...' He groaned and tried the next shelf. Thankfully he found the pajamas. He grabbed them and quickly ran out of the room. He closed the door behind him and sighed. "Here you go, Mira! I'm putting them in front of the door."

"O-Okay..." He heard her say and then he left to rejoin Happy back in the kitchen. Mirajane waited a few more seconds before opening the door and grabbing her pajamas. She quickly dressed herself into them and then walked over to her mirror. See saw her face was red. 'N-Natsu was in my room...I hope he didn't see anything that might have been embarrassing...' She hoped, but he did and there was no way he was going to tell her that. She brushed her hair before getting out of the bathroom. "I'm done." She announced and walked over to him. "I'll go set up Elfman's room for you, okay?"

"Ah no, that's alright! I'm fine with sleeping on the couch." He told her.

"I can't let you do that, you are my guest and it's only proper for my guests to sleep on a comfortable bed." She replied.

"If that's the case where would have Elfman slept."

"The couch." She smiled as she said that.

"Hahahaha! That's funny, Mira. However, I want to sleep on the couch. I'm sure Happy would like the same." He said and turned to his best friend.

"Thanks Mira! I'm going to sleep in Elfman's bed now!" Happy thanked her and flew off to Elfman's room.

"Dammit Happy!" Natsu shouted after him and then sighed. Mirajane couldn't help but laugh. It's been a long time since her house was as lively as it was. "You have a nice laugh, Mira..."

"Huh?" Both Mirajane and Natsu blushed. Natsu's eyes widened in horror at what just came out of his mouth. Mirajane couldn't help but blush at his compliment.

"T-Thank you..." She said and Natsu scratched his head. Mirajane couldn't believe it. No matter how much she tried, he just kept on pulling her feelings for him right back in. It just amazed her. To think that Natsu Dragneel can make a beauty like Mirajane fall for him deeper and deeper. However, she had to fight it. She had to or otherwise the guilt would just eat at her. "If you want to sleep on the couch...then it's fine...just come tell me if you need something...I'll be back with a pillow and a blanket." She said and went to get the two items.

Natsu sighed when she left. He couldn't believe what he just said. He just blurted something he never thought he would ever say. It wasn't a lie though. He loved the way she laughed. He just never thought he would say that out loud. 'Jeez, just what is going on with me? Ever since Cana kissed me I've been feeling so weird around Mira.' He just couldn't put his finger on it.

"I'm back." She announced and placed the pillow and blanket on the couch. "I hope you'll find them comfortable."

"Thanks, Mira." Mirajane smiled at him before getting ready to go to bed herself.

"Good night, Natsu." She told him.

"Ah! Good night, Mira." Natsu smiled at her and she smiled back before heading to her room. Natsu sighed and placed the pillow on one edge of the couch. He then laid down on it. 'At least the day is about to end...this really was the worst day of...no it's not...the worst day of my life was when I couldn't protect them that day against Zeref...' He clutched the blanket tightly. He sighed one final time before he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

><p><em>How could you...<em>

_No...wait...please don't hate me...I...I didn't mean for this to..._

_I can't believe you did this...I thought you knew..._

_I did...but...I..._

_I can't believe you...you knew I loved him..._

_I'm so sorry...Lisanna...I didn't mean to..._

_I can never forgive you...Mira-nee..._

_Lisanna! Wait! Don't hate me!_

"Lisanna!" Mirajane woke up screaming as she felt her entire body sweating from the nightmare she just had. She did her best to calm down her very fast beating heart. She took deep breath after deep breath to settle herself down. Everything that she worried about, everything that held her back from truly committing her feelings toward Natsu came up in her nightmare. She just couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't handle the guilt that came with having feelings for Natsu. It just hurt too much. She suddenly heard a knock on her door. She jumped in surprise at the sudden knock. "W-Who is it?"

"Mira...is everything okay?" It was Natsu.

"Yeah...I'm fine..." She responded.

"O-Okay then..." He replied back. Mirajane bit her bottom lip. Suddenly, she felt tears stream down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry...I'm sorry..." She repeated as Natsu listened from behind her door. He clenched his fists tightly. He couldn't stand the sound of her sobs and cries. The tone of her voice made him feel like shit. He then remembered the conversation he had with Elfman. He was right. She felt so guilty over Lisanna to the point she was now crying in her room. He couldn't just leave her like this. Without any warning, he opened the door and walked into her room. Mirajane was surprised by what he did. The sight of her crying form made him feel even more like shit. "Natsu...what are you...?" He then did something that surprised her. He hugged her. She felt his warm arms wrap around her body and press her body closer to his chest.

"Please stop it Mira..." He whispered into her ear. "I don't want to see you cry anymore...so please...stop crying..." He continued. "I don't know why you are crying, but I just want you to know that I'm here for you...so please...stop crying..." He embraced her tighter. Mirajane couldn't stop herself from burying her face into his shoulder. Natsu could only frown and hold her in his arms. He didn't to see her or any one of his friends cry. He couldn't let her take the blame and pressure all by herself. If she needed him, then he'll be there for her. That was the least he could do, right?

The two of them stayed like this until she calmed down. She stopped crying and when she did, she pulled herself away from his chest. "Natsu..." She whispered.

"Are you okay, Mira?" He asked.

She lifted her head to look up at him. She then asked him something he never thought she would ask. "Please...kiss me..." He felt his cheeks get warm and there was no doubt that his cheeks were red as well. He couldn't believe she just asked him to kiss her. "Please..." She repeated with pleading eyes. He didn't know why, but his body started moving on it's own. His head slowly descended and Mirajane's head slowly was rising toward his. Their lips were inches away from each other. It was then, that it happened.

A sudden explosion that forced both Natsu and Mirajane to fall down on the floor. Mirajane's head slightly hit against the floor causing her to lose consciousness. Natsu groaned in pain as his head hit the floor hard as well, but not enough to knock him out. He lifted his head up to see if Mirajane was okay. "Hey Mira...are you okay?" He asked, shaking her a bit. She didn't respond and he cursed under his breath. "What the hell was that?" He asked no one in particular and wrapped his arms around Mirajane and lifted himself up to a seating position. He looked in the direction of the explosion and a rather large dust cloud appeared. He then saw the silhouette of a man walking in the smoke. "Who the hell are you?" He screamed.

"Hand her over." The man spoke. The smoke started to fade away and Natsu's eyes widened when he recognized the black hooded cloak wearing man.

"Y-You..." The man didn't respond. He raised his arm and a magic circle appeared in front of it. Suddenly, weird looking shapes appeared on Natsu's body. "W-What the hell is this?" The man closed his hand into a fist and when he did, Natsu felt his entire body froze and get tighter as if he an anaconda was wrapping itself around him. "W-Why can't I m-move..." He groaned.

The man walked toward him and then lifted Mirajane up in a bridal style position before looking down at Natsu. "Thank you."

"W-Who the hell are you and what do you want with Mira, you bastard?" Natsu managed to yell.

"There is no reason for me to answer that...as she is my bride."

"Y-Your what?" Natsu's eyes widened.

"Sorry, but I'm not going to give you an invitation to our wedding. This will be the last time you will see my bride, Salamander." With that said, he started walking toward the hole he made with the explosion.

"You bastard! Get back here! Give Mira back!" He screamed, but no matter how much he struggled, the tightness he felt only became tighter. 'What the hell is this magic? Why can't I break it? Damn it!' Natsu did all he could to release the spell, but it was no use. "MIRA!"

**To Be Continued...**

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><p><strong>Author Notes 2: <strong>Hey, guys! I hope you like the beginning of the filler arc. I also hoped you like the sudden surprise kiss by Cana. I thought she would be perfect for it because of the way her personality is. Also, I will tell everyone this. A lemon scene will be coming in like two chapters! However, you will not find it here, but on AFF. The link to my profile on AFF is on my profile here on FF. So I hope you liked it!


	19. Natsu Crashes The Wedding

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related which includes the characters of Fairy Tail.

**Rated M! You have been warned!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 19: Natsu Crashes the Wedding<strong>

Natsu couldn't believe he couldn't do anything to help Mirajane. He struggled against the spell that was cast on him. He couldn't move. He just couldn't. 'What the hell is this! Why can't I move?' He tried using his magic to break free, but that didn't work either. He then noticed that it felt weird when he tried to use his magic to break free. 'My magic...I...I can't feel...' It stunned him. It was almost like his magic was being sealed away and whenever he tried to use it, the spell was blocking his magic from escaping. 'This spell is acting like a cage...a cage to keep my magic sealed...' He growled in frustration. 'Damn it all...I can't believe I let that bastard take Mira away! I need to find a way to remove this spell from me...' He thought about it and remembered that there was somebody that knew a lot about spells right in Fairy Tail. 'But how do I...'

"Hey Natsu! What happened! What was that loud booming sound!" Natsu's eyes widened when he heard Happy's voice behind him.

"Happy! I'm in Mira's room! I need your help!" He yelled and waited for a few moments until Happy arrived.

"Natsu! W-What happened here?" He asked, looking in horror at what happened to the wall.

"I'm glad to see you, buddy! Hurry I need you to go get Levy!" He said. Happy tilted his head slightly in confusion at his request as he walked around him to look at him.

"Huh? Why? And where is Mira?" He continued playing 100 questions and looked around hoping to see Mirajane somewhere.

"I'll explain everything later! Just go get Levy! I need her help!"

"Why?"

"Because I need her help get this spell of of me."

"Oh...oh yeah...what are those weird marks?" He asked, just noticing them now.

"Would you just go already!" Natsu yelled, getting slightly annoyed.

"But what if she is sleeping?"

"Then tell her that it's an emergency!"

"But..."

"Happy..." Natsu growled, getting angry at his best friend.

"R-Right!" Happy jumped a little in surprise at the tone he used and flew away through the newly made hole in the Strauss home. Natsu sighed. He looked through the hole that he watched the black cloak hooded man take Mirajane away. "Don't worry...Mira...I'm going to save you...I promise..."

* * *

><p>Levy yawned and stretched her arms up over her head. She turned her head to look at the time and saw that it was almost three in the morning. "Wow...so late..." She rubbed her eyes as they felt tired from all the reading she just did. 'I guess it would be time to go to sleep...' She decided and put her bookmark on the page she was on. She then closed the book and stood up to stretch again. As she headed toward the bathroom, she suddenly heard something hit her window. She jumped in surprise and slowly turned her head around. Her eyes widened when she saw Happy's face get stretched when he made contact with the window.<p>

"Lwevy..." He said, his voice muffled by the window.

"Happy? W-What are you doing here?" She asked and went to her window to open it.

"Levy...Natsu needs your help..." At this, she let out a gasp.

"H-Huh? He needs my help? For what?" She asked.

"He said something about this spell being cast on him and told me to come get you because you could help him." He told her while floating in the air. Levy felt her cheeks get warm slightly. She then thought about the couple of times recently that he helped her and figured that this would be the perfect chance for her to help him instead of the other way around. She put on a look of determination and nodded her head. "I'll do it! I'm just going to get some stuff before we go, okay?" Happy nodded and watched as she gathered some books and materials before she told Happy to lead the way.

* * *

><p>Natsu continued to struggle to try and get free from the magic spell. However, no matter what he did, it wasn't working. He hated feeling so useless, especially when he couldn't even use his own magic. Every minute that he was stuck like this made him agitated. Every minute made him worry over Mirajane. He knew that her magic didn't return yet. That happened when she fought against Fried. He also promised Elfman that he would protect her and yet here he was, stuck and couldn't stop the hooded man from taking her away. He failed him and knew that he wouldn't forgive him if something happened to her. His only hope is that Levy can find out how to break this spell.<p>

"Natsu! I bought Levy!" He heard Happy's voice and grinned.

"Great job Happy!" He shouted and waited for Happy to bring Levy over to him. When he saw her blue colored hair, his grin widened. "Levy! I'm glad to see you!" At this Levy blushed. "Quick, I need your help getting this spell off of me." He said.

"This is..." Levy started as she examined the markings on his body.

"You know what this spell is?"

"No...but for some reason...I feel like I seen these marks before...but...I just can't remember where..." She frowned, trying hard to figure out where she saw the marks.

"But you can get rid of this spell, right?" He asked, hopeful.

"It might take some time though..." Levy answered truthfully. "...I first need to know what this spell is before trying to get rid of it."

"I understand...even thought we don't have much time...I'll trust that you can get it off of me..." Levy blushed again at the confidence he had in her and she nodded.

"Right...thank you Natsu." He nodded his head. "By the way...why are you in Mira and Elfman's house?" Natsu's body froze and it was not because of the magic spell. He didn't know why he got so tense because all he had to do was tell the truth. However, he had this feeling that something bad was going to happen if he told her. He wasn't sure what this bad feeling was though.

"Uhh...you see...when Happy and I went home, we found our house burned to the ground..." Levy gasped.

"W-What? H-How did that happen?"

"I don't know..." Natsu answered truthfully. 'But I have a guess on who did it...'

"So then what?"

"...oh...then me and Happy decided to camp out in the park because we didn't have money for a hotel, but then it started raining..." Both he and Happy lowered their heads.

"Wow...that's some bad luck..." Levy sweat dropped.

"Y-Yeah...but then Mira saw us and she took us in...but then..." Levy saw the change of tone in his voice as he frowned.

"What?"

"He suddenly showed up and took her away..." She gasped.

"Mira was kidnapped!" Natsu grit his teeth in anger at himself and nodded.

"Yeah...he said something about her being his bride or something and then put this spell on me...I have to get this spell off of me and go rescue her!" Levy couldn't help but admire Natsu. Although, she did also feel a different kind of feeling, one that she was not use to. She smiled even so.

"Don't worry, Natsu! I'll do my best!" Natsu grinned and nodded.

"Right! I'm counting on you, Levy!"

"Aye!"

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><p>Mirajane woke up. The first thing she saw was a pink colored cloth. 'H-Huh...where am I?' She wondered. She cringed slightly in pain as she felt a small headache coming. She then remembered what happened. She quickly sat up. "Oh no!" She looked around and saw that she was in a fairly large room that was surrounded by four white walls and two large windows. She felt something soft and looked down to see that she was on a mattress. She then noticed that she was on a canopy bed. 'W-Where am I?'<p>

"You're finally awake." Mirajane gasped at the sound of a man's voice and turned her head to see a man wearing a black cloak standing in front of the only door in the room.

"W-Who are you? Where am I?" Mira asked.

"Don't be alarmed, my bride." He said and walked forward.

"Y-Your what...?" Mirajane asked in surprise.

"My bride. We are getting married later today." He told her. "That is why you are wearing that dress." Mirajane raised an eyebrow and looked at what she was wearing and her eyes widened. She was wearing a beautiful white wedding dress. In fact, she never saw a dress as beautiful as the one she was wearing at the moment. However, she forgot about her awe and looked back at the man. "W-What is this?"

"As I said, you are my bride...Mira..." He told her and leaned forward, pressing his knee onto the bed and put a finger on her chin. Mira tried backing away, but couldn't go far enough as she felt his fingers on her chin. "My beautiful bride..." She blushed slightly at his comment and at how close he was to her face. He still had his hood on, so she couldn't see his face, but she did see that the color of his hair was black as charcoal. He tried to lean in closer, and Mirajane didn't know why but she couldn't move. "Not yet..." He suddenly whispered. "...we will have our first kiss as a newlywed couple..." He told her and brushed his knuckles against her cheeks. He then pulled away and started heading toward the door. "You should get some rest...it's going to be a long day...my future wife..." With that, he left the room.

Mirajane didn't know what was wrong with her. Why couldn't she move when he leaned forward? He was just inches away from taking her first kiss! A sudden memory from before she lost consciousness resurfaced in her head. She almost kissed Natsu. Not only that, but Natsu was moving his head to kiss her as well. That means that Natsu was going to kiss her! She blushed. Her first kiss was almost taken by Natsu. She couldn't remember what went through her head when she asked him to kiss her. She could feel her heart beating faster at the idea of what could have happened if they weren't interrupted.

However, she quickly shook her head from such thoughts. Her first priority was to get out of wherever she was. She got out of the bed and hurried over to the door. She turned the knob, but the door was locked. She frowned. 'J-Just who is he...?' She wondered and turned around to look at the room she was trapped in. She looked over to where the two large windows were and saw that there were dark, reddish curtains in the way. 'Well...since the door isn't an option...I might as well try a window...' She nodded and walked over to one of the windows. 'I have to get out of here...or at least find some way to tell the others where I am...' She thought and put her hand on the curtain. She moved it out of the way and what she saw made her eyes widened and gasp in horror. "W-What the..." The first thing that struck her was the orange and red color of magma. "You got to be kidding me..." She didn't know if she was right or not, but she assumed that her current location was inside of a volcano.

Mirajane looked down to see if there was any way to escape using the window, but it was no use as the only thing she saw was the magma that was flowing below. She quickly let go of the curtain and backed away from the window. There was no way out. There was no way to inform the others of her current location. She was trapped. She was trapped in a room, wearing a wedding dress with a guy, who didn't reveal his face, telling her she was his bride. How could it get any weirder?

* * *

><p>"You find anything yet?" Happy asked Levy as she searched through her books that she brought and wrote down some stuff on a piece of paper. She shook her head.<p>

"No...I brought a lot of books that have rare magic spell listed in them, but nothing..." She frowned slightly, taking a breather.

"Oh..." Happy said looking at the books.

"The sun is rising..." Natsu pointed out as he saw the sun rise from the large hole.

"Right! We don't have time to waste!" Levy exclaimed pumping her fist. Natsu gaped at her before nodding her head. He saw Levy go back to finding information on the spell from the corner of his eye and just stared at the hole.

'Since I can't do anything, I might as well do that. Maybe I could gather my magic for the fight I'm pretty sure is going to be coming.' Natsu grunted and then closed his eyes.

Levy looked over at Natsu and saw him close his eyes. She remembered he did something similar back at the guild a while back. She remembered Happy calling it...

"Oh...hes meditating..." Happy hummed as he saw his best friend do just that.

"Does he always do that?" Levy asked.

"Not all the time, but it usually happens when he is going to be facing someone strong...I think he knows that in order to get Mira back he's going to fight that guy who took her." Happy answered.

"But I thought he couldn't use his magic because of the spell?"

"It doesn't really use any of his magic, but focuses his magic and stores it so that he can use it when he needs to." Happy explained. "Like this..." He said, putting on a bow tie, glasses and grabbing a pen and then illustrated what he was talking about.

"I see..."

"Aye!"

Levy looked back at Natsu and then smiled. 'Alright then...time for me to do my part...' She pumped her fist again and then went back to looking through her books.

* * *

><p>Elfman yawned as he finally arrived back in Magnolia. The mission he took was rather easy for him. He hardly had to sweat to take care of some bandits and escort a a carriage through a canyon. He managed to get some sleep on the way back, but still felt tired. There was also the fact that there was just this bad feeling he had ever since last night. He didn't like it. He knew he should have headed home, but seeing as it was morning already, he knew his sister was already at the Guild, tending to the feeding of the other members.<p>

When he arrived at the currently being constructed Guild, he headed toward the open air dining hall that was lightly soaked. He assumed that it rained last night and shrugged it off. When he got there, he noticed that his sister was no where to be found. He raised an eyebrow and walked over to Lucy, Erza and Gray, who were sitting on a table chatting amongst themselves. Gray was the first to notice Elfman's return.

"Yo Elfman! You back?" Gray raised his hand.

"Yeah..."

"How was the job?" Erza asked.

"Nothing a 'Man' like me can't handle!" He exclaimed hitting his chest with his fist.

"That's good..." Erza nodded her head.

"By the way, have any of you seen Nee-chan?" He asked.

"Actually no...she's usually the first one here, right?" Gray responded.

"Eh? She is?" Lucy asked surprised.

"Yeah. Ever since she lost her magic, she decided the best way to support the guild is by becoming the waitress and run the bar so she gets here really early." Gray told her.

"Wow...I didn't know..."

"Now that I think about it...I don't see Natsu or Happy anywhere either." At the sound of his name, Lucy blushed and frowned, while Erza got ticked off. When Gray noticed this, he felt nervous being around her.

"Well, I guess I could go see if she's home." Elfman scratched the back of his neck and started walking away.

"You know...Mira did seem a little off yesterday after Cana kissed Natsu...I wonder what that was about?" Elfman heard what Gray said and turned around.

"W-What?"

"Oh that's right, you weren't here. Yesterday the most surprising thing happened. Cana out of nowhere kissed Natsu." Gray told him as the two females flinched at the memory.

"Eh? Really? Why would she do that?" Elfman asked, walking back to the group.

"Like I know what goes on in that crazy woman's head." Gray told him.

"Says the guy who strips all the time...LIKE RIGHT NOW!" Lucy punched Gray as he was sitting next to her while only in his boxers. A love sick Juvia passed out at seeing her Gray in just his boxers from afar.

"But wait...what's this about Nee-chan?"

"Well, when she saw Cana kiss...Natsu..." Erza paused and blushed before continuing. "...Mira cried and then ran away." Elfman's eyes widened.

"W-What?" He looked at Lucy and she nodded her head. He clenched his fists and felt slightly angry at what he was just told. "I'm heading home." He told them. Lucy and Erza frowned as Gray rubbed his cheek.

"You know..." He began after Elfman turned a corner. "...I wonder if he and Mira talked to each other yesterday and maybe that's why they aren't here..." Both Lucy and Erza felt a jolt run down their spine at what Gray just said. They looked at one another before quickly standing up and running after Elfman. "Huh?" Gray blinked in confusion. "Ah! Wait for me!"

* * *

><p>"Why are you three coming to my house again?" Elfman asked as he and the other three followed right behind him.<p>

"You know...hehe...since we haven't visited you guys in a while..." Erza made up an excuse.

"Huh? Real- Gah!" Gray exclaimed after being elbow in the gut. "I mean...yeah...what she said..." He groaned.

"Me...I just want to see where you and Mira live..." Lucy chuckled, scratching her cheek.

"I see..." Elfman said and turned back around. 'Weirdos...' When the four arrived, their eyes widened and Elfman dropped his bag that he had over his shoulder to the ground. "W-What the hell happened?" He asked in disbelief at the large hole that was made. 'Wait a minute...this side is...' Elfman quickly took off. The others were right behind him. "Nee-chan!" Elfman shouted. "Ah..." He looked inside and was surprised to see Levy and Happy looking back at him.

"E-Elfman...h-hi..." Levy gave him a nervous smile and lifted her hand. The others arrived too and their eyes widened in both shock and confusion as they saw what Elfman did.

"L-Levy-chan...w-what are you doing here?" Lucy asked.

"W-Well you see...it's a long story but..." She began, nervously shaking her hands back and forth.

"Wait a minute! Why is Natsu here as well?" Erza asked, stepping forward.

"Forget all that!" Elfman suddenly roared and everyone turned to look at him. "Where is Nee-chan?" He growled in anger.

"E-Elfman...calm down...let me explain..." Happy tried to calm the much bigger man down before explaining what happened. He then turned to Natsu. "Natsu...wake up...they want an explanation..." He told his best friend. Elfman gritted his teeth in anger. He then charged toward them.

"Elfman! Wait a minute!" Lucy called out to him. He then suddenly grabbed Natsu by his scarf and raised him to his height.

"Damn it, Natsu! Where is Nee-chan!" He demanded an answer, but got nothing.

"Elfman...Natsu is meditating so he can't..." Happy told him.

"Shut up!" He bellowed and Happy made a face of horror.

"It's my fault..." Everyone made a sound of surprise as they turned toward Natsu to see him looking back at Elfman.

"Where is Nee-chan?"

"She was kidnapped..." At the sound of that, everyone except for Happy and Levy made a sound of surprise.

"What do you mean kidnapped!" Elfman asked.

"Last night...some guy made that hole and then kidnapped her..." He explained, staring at Elfman straight in they eyes to tell him that he was not lying.

"You were here...right?" He asked and Natsu nodded his head. "THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU STOP HIM!" He roared so loud that it made everyone of them cringe.

"I couldn't..." Natsu replied. His answer infuriated Elfman to the point that he punched Natsu in the face so hard that he punched him straight out of his grip and down tot he floor.

"Ah! Natsu!" The others shouted in shock as Elfman took heavy breaths and clenched his fists tightly. After the punch, Natsu didn't say anything nor move, since he couldn't do it anyway.

"What kind of answer is that!" Elfman yelled. "You promised...you promised to protect my sister and then this happens!"

"Eh? Natsu promised something like that?" Lucy asked Erza, but she was a surprised as Lucy was.

"E-Elfman...calm down...the reason Natsu couldn't do anything was because the magic spell the guy put on him." Elfman looked down at Levy and then back at Natsu. It was then that he realized that he had strange markings all over his body. He couldn't believe he didn't notice them before. He must have been too angry to notice. However, that still didn't excuse Natsu for letting his sister get kidnapped.

"That's still no excuse..." Everyone's eyes widened as those words did not come from Elfman, but from Natsu. "...I should have protected her. I should have kicked that guy's ass, but I didn't and it's all my fault...you have every right to hit me..." He continued. "However, taking your frustration out on me won't do anything except waste time. I can't move because of this spell he put on me, but you guys can go and rescue her while Levy tries to find a way to get rid of this spell."

"Yeah...but do you know where they could have taken her?" Gray asked, crossing his arms.

"I'm not exactly sure where...but I lost track of their scents about a several kilometers to the west of here." Natsu told them.

"S-Seriously...?" Gray asked in disbelief.

"Yeah ice boy...but I lost track of it because of some weird smell that was blocking their scents."

"Weird scent?" Erza asked.

"I'm not sure what it is, but that's all I know about where they could have gone. Also, there is one more thing I forgot to mention." Natsu said and Happy helped him back up to a sitting position. "He was talking about her being his bride or something like that."

"His bride?" Elfman asked.

"Yeah...you know something about that?"

"No...I don't recall..." He replied. "Wait...so you mean this fucker wants to marry Nee-chan and that's why he kidnapped her?"

"Yeah...that's what he was talking about."

"That bastard..." Elfman clenched his fists in anger. "Like hell I'm going to let him marry Nee-chan!" He then turned around and headed outside.

"Elfman! Wait!" Natsu shouted.

"Like you said I don't have time! I'm going to rescue Nee-chan!" Elfman shouted back.

"But you can't do it alone." He turned his head to see Erza giving him a reassuring smile. "We'll go with you." She said as Gray and Lucy nodded their heads.

"You guys..."

"Hey, Mira is our friend. She is a member of Fairy Tail. That's all the reason we need to get her back so that we could see her smiling and cheerful face again." Gray smirked.

"He's right, Elfman! Just leave it to us!" Lucy added, grabbing her key ring that she got back from Loke who ran away as soon as she gave it to him.

"T-Thank you..." He then turned to Natsu. "You better keep your promise!"

"You got it!" He smirked and nodded his head. The four looked at each other and nodded their heads before they ran off in the direction Natsu pointed them to. The pink hair Dragon Slayer then looked at Levy. "I'm counting on you."

"Right!" Levy nodded her head and then returned to looking through her books with Happy's help. Natsu closed his eyes and started meditating once more.

'Don't worry Mira...I'm going to rescue you...I promise!'

* * *

><p>"It seems some of those Fairies are coming this way..." The man in the black hooded cloak spoke as he sat in his chair. He lifted his head slightly and looked at the two people standing in front of him. The three were in a very large room that looked like it belonged to a King, with a long red carpet that stretched to the seat where the man was sitting all the way to the door. There were several pillars on each side of the room and several large windows that were covered by the dark curtains that were similar to the ones in the room that Mirajane was held in. One of the two people standing in front of the man, a woman with blond hair that was tied in a pony tail, shifted her glasses. She wore a black shirt that showed off some of her cleavage and a black mini skirt and carried a long red staff on her back.<p>

"Do you expect them to find this place?" She asked.

"That Salamander...he has a very strong nose...he was able to detect our scent to the point we reached this island. I'm guessing he lost track of us because of the ashes this volcano is emitting." He explained to her.

"So what? Like his friends could stop us..." The man next to the woman smirked. He had dark greenish hair that was shoulder length. He wore a reddish vest over his naked abdomen and long black colored pants. The most striking feature was the large scar that ran down his chest.

"Don't get too cocky..." The man cloak wearing man told him. "They may not seem much, but when it comes down to it they can find the will to win. So don't underestimate them, Kranos."

"Tch...whatever..." He closed his eyes and turned around.

"Freena...how is Gras doing with his little pet?" He asked the blond woman.

"Yes...he says that the Barukan (Vulcan) is hungry and ready in case of an attack that could disrupt the wedding."

"Good...Kranos...make sure your men are prepared..."

"Yeah, yeah..." He waved his hand and started walking away.

"Is there anything else you need?" Freena asked.

"No...not at the moment...I'll keep an eye on the Salamander through the markings I put on his body. As of now, he is still immobile so we don't have much to worry about." He answered.

"If I may ask, why is making sure the Salamander doesn't interrupt your wedding so important."

"It's because I saw the fight he had recently. I planned to get my beautiful wife during the commotion, but I didn't because I had to asses the abilities of Fairy Tail. Since I was able to get the data, I made sure that the Salamander would not be a nuisance to me. It's too bad removing the spell I cast is difficult since it was a spell that can't be found in any modern day book." He answered.

"I see...very well then...I will make sure the wedding would go smoothly." She told him and then turned around to walk away.

The man sighed and leaned his head on his fist. 'Soon...Mira...we will enjoy the rest of our lives together...and I won't allow anyone to stop this wedding...'

* * *

><p>Elfman, Erza, Lucy and Gray followed Natsu's direction and ended up in a small port town. When they arrived, they split up to ask the civilians about any type of wedding. After an hour of asking, Erza was finally able to get some information from a sailor.<p>

"Apparently, there is a wedding that's going to take place on an island not too far from here." She told the others.

"That's most definitely where Nee-chan is." Elfman exclaimed.

"Yeah, but there is a small problem..." She said and pausing before continuing. "...apparently, no one here is willing to take us to the island."

"Huh? Why?" Lucy asked.

"For one, there is an active volcano on the island. Not only that, but apparently there is someone there who doesn't let anyone on the island unless he is expecting them. Basically, the entire island is locked down for anyone." Erza told them.

"This guy...I'm guessing he might be the one who kidnapped Mira..." Gray concluded as Elfman clenched his fist.

"More than likely. The only way I could think of getting onto the island is by sneaking in." Erza stated.

"But how do we do that?" Gray wondered scratching his hair.

"I think I can be of some help." They all turned their heads to see Juvia make her sudden appearance.

"Ah...it's you..." Gray stated in shock, pointing a finger at her. She blushed and started fidgeting her fingers.

"Yes...Gray-sama..." She replied nervously.

"Who is she?" Lucy asked Gray.

"She was one of the Element Four...I think her name was Juv-something..." He replied.

"It's Juvia...Gray-sama..."

"Right, Juvia."

"So does that make her our enemy?" Erza asked.

"Ah! No...I'm no longer with Phantom...I-I'm thinking about joining F-Fairy Tail..." Juvia told them.

"Really?" Gray asked surprised and she gave him a nod, her face slightly red.

"You said you could help us...how?" Elfman asked.

"Yes...since the only way it is possible for us to enter the island is by sea, then all we have to do is get close to the island by boat and then swim to it." She explained.

"That's logical, but even if we do swim there, there is no reason to believe we won't get caught by swimming there much less take the boat all the way to the island." Erza stated.

"That's why we will swim underwater." There was a short pause.

"You do know we can't hold our breaths forever, right?" Lucy told her, sweat dropping.

"Yes...but with this we can." She raised her arm and opened her hand as a small bubble appeared above it. "With this, we can breathe underwater."

"Huh? Really?" Elfman asked as Juvia nodded her head.

"Care to try...G-Gray-sama...?" She nervously asked, pushing the bubble in front of him.

"W-Well...I guess there is no harm in trying..." He gulped and took the bubble from her. His forearm slightly brushed Juvia's hand, which caused the water mage to blush deep red and hold her hand close to her. Gray lowered the bubble down to his head and everyone waited for him to respond. He took a deep breath and his eyes widened. "W-Woah...I can breathe...this is pretty cool!" He stated as Juvia blush deepened at his compliment.

'G-G-Gray-sama complimented me...kyaaa...'

"I guess we found our way through..." Erza smirked.

"But we still don't have a boat..." Lucy frowned.

"We can just borrow one." Erza replied.

"I'm pretty sure by borrowing you mean stealing one..." Lucy sweat dropped.

"Hmm...where is Elfman?" Gray asked, suddenly not seeing the middle Strauss sibling anywhere. A sudden roar was heard and the group turned their heads to one of the ports and saw Elfman carrying a boat toward them before dropping it in the water in front of the group.

"We have a boat now." He stated, pointing at it. Everyone sweat dropped.

"Where did you get it?" Lucy asked, afraid to hear the answer.

"That kind man over there said I could borrow it." He pointed behind him to a man in the fetal position sucking his thumb. They sweat dropped once more. "Alright then...now that we have everything we need, we better go. We have to go save Nee-chan as soon as possible." He told them and hopped into the boat.

"Right!" The others cheered and joined him, before setting off toward the direction of the island.

* * *

><p>"Alright...this is as far as we can go." Erza stated as she and the others stared at the island. They looked in awe at the large volcano that was located on the other side of the island.<p>

"And it's supposed to be active...I don't like this..." Lucy whined.

"Man up Lucy!" Elfman told her.

"I'm a girl..."

"In any case, Juvia." Erza turned toward the water mage who was looking at Gray with hearts as eyes returned to normal and nodded her head.

"Juvia is on it." She raised her arms and creating multiple bubbles, enough for everyone. They each took one and lowered it onto their heads.

"Let's go!" Erza ordered and the group jumped into the water.

"Wow...you really can breathe in these bubbles." Lucy commented as she and the other swam toward the island.

"I advise you not to not waste your oxygen." Juvia told her.

"R-Right..."

'Nee-chan...don't worry...I'm coming to save you...I won't let anything happen to you...' Elfman thought as he was ahead of the others. They swam all the way towards the island and managed to find a small cave. They entered it. They swam through the long passageway before finally reaching the end. They resurfaced and were now in a cave.

"Do any of you see anyone?" Gray asked, surveying the area himself.

"No...it looks like the coast is clear." Lucy replied as Elfman helped her out of the water.

"It was a great thing you showed up Juvia. Otherwise well still be stuck wondering how to get on the island." Gray complimented her as she became flustered.

"I-I-It was nothing...Gray-sama..." She thanked him and then turned her head toward Lucy. "Gray-sama complimented me and not you."

"O-Okay..." Lucy sweat drop in confusion.

"Let's go." Erza told the others and they nodded their heads in agreement. The group ran deeper and deeper into the cave.

"I just don't get it...why would someone suddenly appear and kidnap Mira and suddenly declare her as his bride?" Gray wondered.

"I don't know...but I won't let that bastard marry Nee-chan!" Elfman replied.

"Are you sure you don't know anyone who would try to do this? Like from a previous job you went to or something?" Lucy asked.

"Not any job that I went to, that includes jobs that I went with Nee-chan. In any case, it doesn't matter who he is, I won't let Nee-chan marry anyone who I don't approve of!"

"You sound like an older brother instead of a younger one." Gray chuckled.

"Of course. I have to protect her no matter what!" Both Gray and Erza smiled, knowing what happened to his younger sister and how he had vowed to protect the only remaining family member he had left. They continued running up to the point they reached a crossroad.

"What should we do now? Split up?" Gray asked.

"I vote to be with Gray-sama!" Juvia suddenly raised her hand and then gave Lucy a glare.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Lucy wondered, sweat dropping.

"Splitting up is the only option we have. We don't know what lies ahead so be careful. Me and Lucy will go left while you three go the other way." Erza told them. "Don't make any contact with anyone because we don't know who the enemy is and we don't want to attract any attention to us. Am I clear?"

"Right!" The group shouted and with that, they split up.

* * *

><p>Mirajane was bored. There was nothing to do in the large room that she was kept in. She was trapped like a rat, but she wanted to do something to tell the others where she was. She had to at least learn something about the man who kidnapped her. The only problem was that there was nothing in the room except for the bed she was sitting on and a large mirror in the corner. There was no bookshelf that could have led her to a secret room or something. There wasn't even a closet. She sighed and then laid down on the bed. She stared up at the velvet and frowned.<p>

'This all so confusing...just who is he?' She wondered. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't remember him. Maybe she didn't know him, but he knew her somehow. All of this was just one huge puzzle that she just couldn't piece together. She closed her eyes. Her mind was suddenly filled with thoughts of Natsu. She blushed slightly at the memory of almost kissing Natsu. She wondered exactly what could have happened if they did kiss. Mirajane knew that it was possible that it could have resulted into something that she had never done before. Then there was the possibility that it couldn't happen because of how clueless Natsu probably was about the subject. 'Natsu...'

Just the thought of the Dragon Slayer made her feel warm on the inside. She wondered if he was doing everything he could to save her. She knew he would, after all it's in his personality to help his friends. He was just that kind of person. That was just one of the things she loved about him. She felt her face get hot at the word love. Normally, someone like her would see other people in love and do whatever she could to make them realize their true feelings, but not once did she think of herself falling in love with somebody. Of course she wondered if she would ever find someone that she could fall in love with, but to think that Natsu would be the person sounds absurd. Yet, there was this feeling in her chest at that moment that told her something different.

She quickly sat up and sighed again. She looked around the room again, but it was just the same as it was a few minutes ago. She stood up and walked over to the mirror. She took a glance at herself in the wedding dress. She knew she must have looked beautiful in it, but wondered what other people would think. Natsu came up in her thoughts again and she couldn't help to wonder what he would think of her in the wedding dress. Would he say she was beautiful? Knowing Natsu he wouldn't compliment her like that, but she did remember the compliment he gave her about the way she laughed, so maybe there was hope. However, there could still be a possibility that he thought she didn't look good in the wedding dress. She hoped not.

The sound of the door knob made her look away from the mirror and toward the door. She watched as a woman with blond hair walked into the room. "Mira-san...he is requesting your presence." She told her.

"Who is he?" She asked.

"That is something you should ask him yourself. He is waiting for you." She replied and moved to the side to let her go first. Mirajane decided to do what she asked. It wasn't like she was going to go anywhere while staying in the room. Maybe she could try to sneak away from the woman. Mirajane began walking and exited the room and into a long hallway. She heard the blond woman's footsteps and from how loud they were, she knew that the woman was following very closely behind. It made it difficult for her to escape.

Before she knew it, she was standing in front of the door that the blond woman directed her too. Mirajane had no opportunity to escape. She sighed and then opened the door. She entered the large room and saw the man who kidnapped her. He was calmly sitting in a large chair. "Mira..." He whispered. "Feena, could you please give the two of us a moment."

"As you wish." Mirajane turned her head to see Feena walk out of the room and close the door behind her. She then turned her head around and saw that her kidnapper was walking toward her.

"What do you think of my home?" He asked.

"Who are you?" Mirajane asked, ignoring his question. He chuckled.

"Yes, I guess it is best if introduce myself to the woman who I will be marrying very shortly." He raised his arms toward his hoody. "Before I do this, I do not want you to be alarmed." He warned her and Mirajane furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. He then lowered his hoody and Mirajane's eyes widened in horror. She placed her hands on her mouth. "Your reaction is not surprising, but I want you to know that despite this, I am not a bad guy. My name is Magnus." He introduced himself before lifting his hoody back up. "I was born on this island..." He continued as he walked toward the window. "...my parents were killed during a volcanic eruption when I was eight and since then I despised this island. However, one thing I didn't despise was the volcano. I don't know what it was, but whenever I saw the magma...I felt tremendous power course through my body. I felt like just being around this volcano was like home. This is why I decided to build this home in the volcano. Of course I placed a magic spell so that this house doesn't get burned to a crisp in case the volcano erupts, so there is nothing for you to worry about that. My love for magma is also the reason why my face is how it is now."

Mirajane didn't know what to say. She definitely thought that the man was a weirdo, but she was never one to judge a person by their appearance or by their personality. She lowered her hand and gulped. "W-Why did you kidnap me?"

"Because you and I destined for each other, Mira." He replied.

"Why do you keep saying that? I never met you before." Mirajane frowned.

"I see...so you don't remember me." Magnus sighed and then turned around to face her. "It is understandable, after all, my face wasn't like it is now three years ago."

"Three years ago?"

"Yes...three years ago I met you for the first time. It was during a job request that you took on along with your brother and sister. During that job you met someone who admired strong mages like yourself once were. He became foolish and tried to help you on your job, but you kept rejecting his help. However, no matter how many times you told him no, he continued to follow the three of you. It was then that that person made a foolish mistake that almost cost him his life. However, you then saved his life. It was at that moment that the person fell in love with you. However, when he confessed, you rejected him because he was too young and were too weak for you. So, he decided to get stronger to the point where he knew he could be worthy of you. That someone...was me." He finished as Mirajane looked at him with widened eyes.

"You mean...that person was you!" She couldn't believe that the man sanding in front of her was the same person. She remembered that job because she remembered that someone confessed to her for the first time. She couldn't remember exactly who the person was, but she never would have expected that happy and enthusiastic boy was the man standing just a few feet from her. The man nodded his head.

"Yes...I do not hate you because you forgot about me. I also do not hate your change in personality. However..." There was a long pause before he started again. "...I became infuriated after something I saw." The tone in his voice changed to a deeper and angry one. "You started developing feelings for that Salamander!" Mirajane gasped softly. "I trained so long to make you acknowledge my strength since the first time I confessed to you. That day...at the cemetery...I saw you hugging that Salamander. I got angry. Angry at the fact that I, who trained for so long, was losing to that man. A man who doesn't deserve you. A man who is younger than you and is definitely not as strong as you once were. You, who rejected me because I was weaker than you and younger, started developing feelings for a man who was like me!"

"No...that's not true...I..."

"Stop it with the lies! I saw how you looked at him. You never looked at me like that! I worked so hard for you to finally accept my feelings for you. My face became like this because of my dedication to get stronger for you! But apparently it seems you found some one else." There was a short pause, at which Mirajane couldn't believe what she was hearing. All of a sudden, Magnus began chuckling. "However, there was no way I was going to let him take you away from me. That bastard doesn't deserve someone like you. I'm the only one worthy enough for you!"

"I..." Mirajane was speechless. What could she say? All of this left her in disbelief.

"You don't have to say anything. Soon enough we will have all the time to talk when we are finally betrothed to each other." He told her, raising his arms. "We will live happily together!" Mirajane was stunned. What could she say? Magnus became like this because of her. He became like this because she didn't accept his feelings. He made her feel so bad that she hated herself for turning someone like him into this. Every word that he spoke made her chest tighten in pain. "Of course I also made plans in case you refuse to marry me." He reached into his pocket and took out an orb. The orb suddenly emitted a light and a projection showed up above it. The projection was big enough for Mirajane to see and her eyes widened. "It seems I underestimated the nose of Salamander. He was able to tell your friends where to find us and they are currently on the island." He spoke as Mirajane watched as the projection showed Erza and the others. "I recommend you don't do anything to get out of this wedding or something terrible might befall your friends."

"M-Magnus...please don't do this...I'm sorry for everything..." Mirajane pleaded.

"To hear you say that Mira touches my heart. All you have to do is marry me and your friends will not be harmed." Mirajane bit her bottom lip. She knew her friends were strong. She was confident enough to know that her friends would be able to defeat anyone who stood in their way to save her. However, there was this bad feeling she had. She couldn't explain it, but she had been experiencing it ever since she entered the room. There was something about Magnus that she feared could be trouble for her friends. "Oh...it seems your brother is here." Mirajane's eyes widened as she looked up to see the image of Elfman on the projection. "Now then...this has become interesting...if I were you I wouldn't want anything to happen to your sweet little brother now would you, Mira?" She clenched her fists tightly.

"No...I don't..." Mirajane spoke softly.

"Does that mean what I think it does?"

"As long as you promise to not hurt them...I'll marry you." Mirajane told him.

"I see...very well then." The projection disappeared and he placed the orb back into his pocket. "Feena!" The door behind Mirajane opened and the blond woman entered.

"Yes?"

"Please take my beautiful bride back to her room." He ordered. "Oh...and don't lever her side until the wedding begins."

"As you wish." Feena responded and stepped to the side to let Mirajane walk through the door. Mirajane frowned and turned around. Feena closed the door behind them. Magnus took the orb out once more and the projection appeared again. "Kranos." The man from earlier came out of one of the pillars he hid behind. "Please escort our unexpected guests to the wedding hall and make sure you do it in under 20 minutes. After all, my wedding will begin in 30."

"Hehehe, as you wish."

* * *

><p>Erza and Lucy were finally able to get out of the dark and moist cave and now staring at a large round bird nest. "W-What's with the giant nest?" Lucy asked, stunned.<p>

"I don't know, but...I'm more surprised that the cave led us to a pretty high place." Erza walked toward the edge and saw the sea below.

"Yeah...it didn't feel like we were going up." Lucy turned her head back around to look at the way they came from.

"It doesn't look like we can do anything here. We should head back and go the other way." Erza told her and Lucy nodded her head.

"Yeah." The two ladies were about to head back into the cave, but they stopped when something large appeared behind them, covering the two with his shadow. They turned around and their eyes widened in horror. A large black bird glared down at the two as Lucy shook in her boots and Erza clenched her fists and matched the bird's glare with her own. The large bird had a large scar through his left eye. However, only a quart of it is seen as a metal plating was in front of his eyes and the brim of his nose, covering the rest of the scar. "W-W-What is that thing?" Lucy screamed.

"I don't know, but it doesn't look friendly." Erza stated and took out her sword, preparing for battle.

"Baru-chan! What are you staring at?" The two heard a voice and a boy around 12 years old appeared from behind the large bird.

"Eh? W-What's a little kid doing with that large bird?" Lucy eyes widened in shock. Hearing Lucy's voice, the boy turned his head toward her.

"Hmm? Who are those two ugly girls?" At the word ugly, both woman got angry.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING UGLY?" Lucy yelled.

"Waaah! Baru-chan! That ugly bimbo just yelled at me!" The boy cried and when he did, the large bird stretched out his wings and let out a mighty roar.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Lucy repeatedly shouted, while waving her arms up and down.

"Lucy! Calm down!" Erza told her as Lucy stopped. She clenched her sword tightly and waited for the large bird to make an attack. However, the bird didn't do anything and just returned to it's original position and glared down at the two. Erza was confused by this. "Why isn't it attacking?"

"Because I told him not to." They looked at the boy and he smirked.

"W-What?"

"Baru-chan is my friend and he only attacks when I tell him to." The boy answered. "So, who are you two?"

"We're guests that were invited to the wedding." Erza answered and Lucy nodded her head in agreement.

"The wedding...?" The boy lowered his head so that his eyes were hidden behind his brown colored short, spiky hair. "Oh! I see! You two must be friends of Mira-neechan!" He lifted his head and put on a large happy expression that included a wide grin.

"Y-Yeah...that's right..." Erza responded a bit dumbfounded at his sudden change of reaction.

"Why didn't you say so?" He exclaimed. "It's so nice to finally meet some of Mira-neechan's friends!" He continued. "It makes things a lot more easier..." His tone changed drastically as he narrowed his eyes at the two and smirked. "I've been ordered to capture Mira-neechan's friends..."

"Huh?" Lucy blinked in confusion.

"Baru-chan...capture them." The large bird let out a roar and flapped his wings to go airborne.

"Damn it!" Erza cursed and clenched her sword tightly as the large bird charged straight down at the two. Erza quickly grabbed Lucy's wrist and jumped away to avoid getting hit by the large bird's beak. The bird crashed into the ground and destroyed the area that Erza and Lucy were recently in.

"So strong!" The black bird raised it's head and looked at them. Lucy gulped and looked around only to see that they had no where to run. They were trapped. Erza, however, wasn't going to give up so easily. She quickly requipped into her Black Wing Armor. She flew toward the large bird and swung her sword. The black bird raised it's wing to defend itself from Erza's strike. Erza connected with a horizontal slash. She quickly turned around to assess the damage she had done, but her eyes widened when she saw her attack didn't even faze the bird's wings.

"I-Impossible..." The bird lowered it's wing and glared up at Erza.

"That won't work..." The kid exclaimed in a childish tone. "Baru-chan's feathers are so strong no attack can pierce through them!"

"We'll see about that!" Erza stated and charged at the bird again. "Black Wing: Moon Flash!" She slashed at the bird in a cross pattern. The bird raised it's wings and flapped them which resulted in a powerful gust of wind. Erza's attack was stopped and the scarlet knight shielded herself from the powerful gust. She gritted her teeth in anger as the gust settled down and she regained her composure. Her eyes widened when the bird suddenly flew toward her at an incredible speed and slapped her down to the ground with it's wing. "Gah!"

"Erza!" Lucy screamed in worry. 'I can't just sit by and watch...I have to help her!' Lucy quickly grabbed one of her keys and summoned one of her Celestial Spirits. "Open the Gate of the Golden Bull! Taurus!" She summoned Taurus who let out a loud roar. He then turned toward Lucy and his eyes turned to hearts.

"Ahh! Lucy you are wonderful as always especially your breasts! Moo!" Lucy sweat dropped at her perverted Celestial Spirit.

"Now is not the time Taurus! We have to help Erza!" Lucy told him.

"As you wish!" He exclaimed in excitement. He turned around and got serious as he glared at the large black bird. "Wait a minute..." He suddenly said.

"What is it?"

"I know this creature." He told her.

"Huh? You do?"

"Yes...he is known as the Barukan. A very dangerous creature that has terrorized a bunch of towns and villages in the south. What is it doing here?" He wondered.

"Well, that boy over there said that the bird is his friend." She replied pointing a finger at the brown haired boy.

"I see...that makes sense."

"Why?"

"The Barukan...even though this creature terrorized towns and villages, he never harmed kids. It's quite surprising."

"Why is that?"

"That I do not knooow." He mooed.

"If you know about him then that means that you know his weakness!" Lucy smiled, hoping.

"Hehehe...you underestimate me, Lucy..."

"So, what is it?"

"...I dooo not knoow."

"You idiot!"

"Lucy is so cruel...but even your cruel side is so wonderful." He danced perversely.

"Pervert..." She slapped her forehead.

"Oooh...so your a Celestial Spirit Mage! That's so cool! Too bad you're still and ugly bimbo!" Taurus felt a vein pop in his forehead at the boy's insult. He gave both the boy and the Barukan a glare.

"How dare you call Lucy's breasts ugly?" He roared.

"He never said anything about my breasts!" She yelled at her Celestial Spirit.

"Baru-chan! That cow yelled at me! Please take care of it!" The Barukan let out a mighty roar and flapped his wings again to blow a gust of wind at Taurus. Taurus stepped in front of Lucy and put his arms up to stand his ground against the gust of wind. Lucy did the same, but thanks to the protection from Taurus, she was able to hold her ground as well. When the gust of wind died down, Taurus grabbed his axe and charged at the Barukan.

"I will make you pay for insulting Lucy's san's breasts!" He roared.

"Would you stop that already!" He heard Lucy yell, but that gave him motivation to strike the Barukan.

"Take this!" He jumped and swung his axe down onto the bird's beak. He smirked, thinking he was able to deal some damage to the bird, but he was met with a piercing glare. The Barukan then slapped Taurus out of the way and into the volcano.

"Taurus!" Lucy shouted as she watched an unconscious Taurus fall down with some debris following him. However, Taurus gave Erza enough time to recover and deliver multiple slashes against the Barukan's neck. "Erza!" Lucy grinned. The Barukan roared not in pain, but in anger as he started pecking at Erza while she was still airborne. Erza did her best to evade each of his attack as best as she could, but it was difficult for her because she was in the air. Lucy watched in horror as the beak of the Barukan nailed Erza right in her abdomen. The blow sent her crashing to the ground just in front of Lucy. "Erza!" Lucy cried out and ran toward her comrade. She knelt down and Erza struggled to sit up.

"Is that really all you got?" The boy whined. "This is boring...I guess I might as well just capture you guys." The boy raised his right hand and a magic circle appeared in front of it. Erza and Lucy didn't know what he was going to do until they suddenly couldn't move. They looked down and their eyes widened as the same strange markings that they saw on Natsu appear on them.

"T-This is..." Erza gritted her teeth.

"Yep! It's the same spell that aniki put on that dragon boy." The boy exclaimed childishly. "Now you are captured! Yay!"

"Damn it..." Erza gritted her teeth in anger. She couldn't believe she lost and worse got captured by the enemy. 'Hopefully...the other three didn't get caught...'

* * *

><p>Gray, Elfman and Juvia were as stealthy as anyone can be. However, it wasn't until they met with a certain someone that their stealthy ways were no longer effective. "Damn it...what the hell is with this guy?" Gray groaned as his magic was doing nothing against him.<p>

"It's like hes predicting our attacks." Juvia stated.

"Is that even possible?" Gray asked in shock.

"I heard rumors that there are some mages who have the ability to see a couple of seconds into the future...but I thought they were just rumors." She added as the two of them watched the man dodge Elfman's beast arm fluidly.

"Damn you! Take this!" Elfman roared, trying to land a single punch against him.

"You really are an aggressive one..." Kranos chuckled. "It's too bad your aggressiveness is one of the reasons why you will never be able to hit me."

"Screw you!" Elfman shouted. Kranos sighed and slipped tot he side to avoid another punch. He then grabbed Elfman's beast arm with his right hand, gripped it tightly and then raised his left hand and did a backward clothesline that made Elfman do a back flip straight to the ground. "To think that you are her little brother. I swear, I heard stories of how powerful your sister was so I assumed that you were at least as strong as her. Too bad you disappointed me."

"Bastard..." Elfman pushed himself up with his arms and glared at Kranos.

"If I were you, I'd shut up and stay still." He pushed him back down to the ground with a foot and then raised his arm to cast a spell. Juvia and Gray watched as the same markings found on Natsu were appearing on his body.

"It's that spell again..." Gray whispered.

"Now then, are you two going to come peacefully...or do I have to kick your asses." Gray and Juvia stared at him.

"Sorry...but I don't plan on getting captured." Gray replied, getting into position to cast his ice make magic.

"Juvia will also not get captured...unless it involves getting close to Gray-sama..." She blushed while holding her cheeks.

"I can make that happen if you want." Kranos told her.

"Really!"

"Would you cut it out?" Gray shouted in annoyance.

"I'm sorry...Gray-sama..." Juvia apologized.

"So...should I just place the spell on you two or will you do the stupid thing and try to defeat me. I don't care either way, but I would like to save you two some embarrassment." Kranos told them. "Then again...seeing as you are in your boxers I don't think you can get any more embarrassed."

"Gah! When did I undress!" Gray shouted looking down at his boxers. Juvia looked his way and her face got so red that she fainted. "Ah!" Juvia!"

"Hmm...well I guess you are the only one left." He looked at Gray.

"Damn it...can I just get my pants...?" He asked nicely, raising his hand to signal time out.

"Go ahead..." Kranos replied as he waited for Gray to get his pants back.

"Alright then! Now we can fight." Gray told him as soon as he was done putting his pants on.

"Fine...just make sure you make it interesting for me." Kranos smirked and motioned Gray to come at him.

"Ice Make: Lance!" Gray shot out multiple lances at Kranos. He smirked and fluidly dodged every one of them. "Damn it..." Gray muttered in annoyance. "Ice Make: Floor!" He slammed his hand down on the ground to freeze it. Kranos jumped up to avoid getting trapped by the ice. He landed on his feet and took a feeling toward the ice.

"I see what you are trying to do...you think that by freezing the floor you could..."

"Ice Make: Geyser!" Kranos looked down to see the ice start to shaking. He quickly jumped back as the ice rose up from the ground. Kranos steadily landed on his feet.

"That was close. Interesting...unlike that brute over there you actually think about what you do before acting." He complimented the ice make mage. "Although...its too bad you have to face someone like me. If it wasn't anyone else, you probably could have defeated them by now."

"Oh...and what makes you so special?" Gray asked, hoping he would tell him the secret to his technique.

"Me? A lot of things. Some good, some bad. I guess if I had to describe myself in one word...I'd say...strategic."

"Strategic?"

"Well, I do have a brilliant mind when it concerns forming a plan to defeat somebody. Yet, no one would know that because of the way I look and my somewhat spontaneous personality."

"That doesn't explain how you are able to dodge our attacks so easily."

"Oh that...I could tell you, but even if I do it wouldn't matter."

"Oh and why not?"

"Because just as that woman said, I'm able to see a few seconds into the future." Gray's eyes widened. "Like for example, you planned on using this magic spell called Ice Make: Saucer while I spoke to catch me off guard." Gray's eyes widened. He was right. He really could see into the future. This was bad.

"Damn it...oh well1 Won't know until I try! Ice Make: Saucer!" Gray pointed his hands forward and created a large oval shaped figure in front of him. The saucer started to spin and was then launched at Kranos.

"Just like I knew it..." He sighed. "Sorry, but I'm tired of this." He raised his arm and stopped the saucer in its track.

"You got to be kidding..." Gray muttered in shock. Kranos then redirected the saucer as it crashed into one of the walls in the cave.

"Now then..." Gray didn't know how it happened, but Kranos suddenly appeared in front of him, his arm raised and a magic circle appearing in front of his hand. Suddenly, Gray couldn't move and if he looked down, he would be able to see the same markings on Elfman's body appear on his.

"C-Crap..." Gray gritted his teeth in anger.

"You see how easy that was." Kranos sighed. He then walked over to Juvia and cast the same spell on her, but it probably wouldn't have mattered as she was knocked out.

"Damn it! What the hell is this spell?" Gray yelled.

"Ah! This spell is very unique. I don't know much about it, but Magnus taught us this spell in case something like this might happen." He told him.

"Magnus?" Gray asked.

"Yeah...he's the one who is going to marry that guy's sister." He pointed toward Elfman.

"What!" Elfman shouted.

"Calm down! All of you will be attending the wedding. Of course with the spell on you. I'm pretty sure Gras was able to deal with your other friends." He stated, making Gray and Elfman gasp in shock.

"What? Erza and Lucy also got captured?" Gray couldn't believe it.

"Well, I can't blame them. After all, that bird of his is such a pain." Kranos rubbed the back of his neck.

"Bird?"

"You'll see soon. Now then, let's get going. The wedding starts in ten minutes or so."

* * *

><p>"Mira-san...it is time..." Feena told her. Mirajane looked at her before nodding her head. She stood up and started following Feena out of the room. Mirajane couldn't believe what was happening. She was going to get married and what's worse was that she was getting married not because of love, but because she did something stupid. She wasn't ready for something like love three years ago. She rejected him not because of those two things, but because she wasn't too sure about being in love. Now that same boy who confessed to her was forcing her to marry because of what she said to him. She wished she could take it back.<p>

She was also getting married so that she could protect her friends. The friends who came to rescue her. She was doing this for Elfman. So that he wouldn't get hurt. There was never a day that went by that she wished she had her powers back. If she did, then she could fight against Magnus. However, she couldn't feel her magic. She was weak and she knew this was the only thing she could do.

Mirajane stopped when Feena was at a large door. She opened it and when she did, a bright light made her shield her eyes with her arm. When her eyes adjusted, she saw that the door led outside. What was surprising was that it didn't look like she was anywhere near a volcano. There was a white stoned path in front of her with jars of various different flowers on each side. There was stone white pillars in between each jar. "This is..."

"Follow me." Feena told her and Mirajane did as she asked. Mirajane and Feena were following the path that had a small little climb before stopping in front of a door. Feena turned around and walked toward her. Mirajane didn't know what she was going to do, until she watched her reach toward the veil and lowered it so that it could cover her face. Mirajane watched as she raised her arm and a bouquet of flowers appeared in her hand. She then handed her the flowers. "You should feel honored." She suddenly said.

"Huh?"

"Nothing..." Feena closed her eyes and turned around. "When the music starts playing, you will enter through this door. There will be some stairs to climb, but no matter what happens or what you see, you must keep climbing the stairs. Am I clear?"

"Y-Yes..." Mirajane responded.

"Very well then." After about a minute of waiting, wedding music started playing. Feena opened the door and motioned her to enter. Mirajane gulped and clenched the bouquet in her hands before beginning to walk forward. Mirajane saw the stairs and started climbing them. A lot of things were going through her mind as she walked up the steps. She was getting married. She never had a first date nor even kiss anyone and she was already getting married. Everything was moving so fast and the worse thing about it was that she was marrying someone who was obsessed with her and not in a good way. To say that she deserved this after what she told the man she was marrying, she would have to agree with it.

As she got one step closer and closer, she started seeing people. She eyed them and saw people she never met before. She guessed they were guests invited by Magnus. She wondered if her friends were okay. She told Magnus that she would marry him as long as he didn't harm them, but she wanted to see them to make sure he kept his promise.

Meanwhile, Magnus waited patiently for his bride. He was wearing a black suit as his face was seen by anyone who was there with him. Next to him were his best men, Kranos and Gras. He turned his head toward Gras who was also wearing a suit. "Is Barukan where he is supposed to be?"

"Yes he is, Mag-chan!" As you asked, he is making sure no one interrupts your wedding by sneaking in from the air." Gras told him.

"Good." Magnus responded. He then turned his head to the unexpected guests that he ordered Gras and Kranos to capture. He saw Elfman giving him a glare. "Why do you look so mad, soon to be brother in law?"

"You bastard! How dare you capture Nee-chan and force her to marry you!" He yelled.

"I see you don't remember me. It doesn't matter. We'll get to know each other very soon." He said and then looked at the others and saw them staring at him weirdly. He knew the reason why. "I know you were raised better than to stare at someone with those faces."

"S-Sorry..." Lucy apologized and looked away. 'His face...what in the world could have happened to it?'

Magnus then saw something white appear and as soon as he saw her, he was mesmerized by her beauty. Mirajane looked absolutely beautiful to him in her wedding gown. Sure he seen her before with it, but it felt so much different now that she was going to join him in the altar.

Elfman and the others turned their heads and their eyes widened. All of them blushed at the sight of Mirajane in the wedding gown she wore. "W-Woah..." Gray couldn't help but say. Juvia would have gotten depressed that her beloved was looking at someone else with those eyes, but she couldn't keep her eyes off of Mirajane.

'She looks so beautiful...' Lucy couldn't help but admire Mirajane in the wedding dress. 'Maybe one day I can...'

"Nee-chan..." Elfman whispered in surprise. Erza was just speechless.

Mirajane turned her head and her eyes widened in shock at seeing her friends. She wanted to see them, but not in the situation they were in. She remembered Feena's instructions and just looked back at Magnus. She starting walking again. She stopped in front of the alter as Magnus stood next to her. "You look beautiful...Mira-san."

"You promised to not hurt my friends." She replied.

"I didn't. I never laid a hand on them. Besides, I thought it would be nice if you had people you knew at your wedding." Mirajane bit her bottom lip and frowned. Both of them took a step forward as a priest came out from behind the arches in front of them that was just above the volcano. Mirajane guessed they must have built something just above the crater for the wedding.

The priest cleared his throat. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join together this Man and this Woman in Holy Matrimony." (Apparently the entire thing is very long to write, but I'll shorten it to save you guys the trouble of reading it.)

"Don't do this, Nee-chan!" Elfman yelled. Mirajane slightly flinched but remained her composure.

"Do you, Magnus, take this woman as your lawful wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish until death do you part?"

"I do." He quickly answered.

"Do you, Mirajane Strauss, take this woman as your lawful husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish until death do you part?"

Unlike Magnus who responded quickly. Mirajane hesitated for a moment and clenched the bouquet of flowers in her hands tightly. Her friends waited to hear what she would say. "I-I do..." Elfman couldn't believe what he heard. Why was his sister doing this? He knew that bastard had to do something. He must have been forcing her just like he thought he was. If it wasn't for this sealing spell he would punch the living shit out the guy.

"The rings please." The priest asked Gras as he nodded his head and picked up the pillow with the rings on it. Lucy and Erza glared at the little kid, who noticed their glares and just stuck his tongue out at them. "Repeat after me." He told Magnus. "With this ring, I thee wed."

"With this ring, I thee wed." He took one of the rings and lifted her hand to put the ring on her ring finger.

"Mirajane Strauss. With this ring, I thee wed."

"W-With this ring...I-I thee wed..." She hesitated and took the other ring. She raised Magnus' hand and put the ring on his ring finger. Again, the others couldn't believe what was happening.

"No...Mira..." Gray whispered in shock.

"Don't do this Mira!" Erza yelled.

"Nee-chan!"

"If any man can show just cause, why they may not lawfully be joined together, let him now speak, or else hereafter for ever hold his peace." The priest said and Elfman was about to be the one to do it until the priest looked at them. "Anyone besides the five of you over there."

"What!" Elfman shouted in shock. He couldn't believe what the priest just said.

The priest waited a few more seconds before continuing. "I now pronounce you man and wife...you may kiss the bride." Magnus and Mirajane turned toward each other. He slowly lifted the veil as Elfman and the others were protesting and shouting as loud as they could. Mirajane looked at Magnus and he started to lean forward. Mirajane couldn't do anything. She couldn't fight back, nor could she reject him, fearing that if she did, he would hurt her friends. As he was getting closer and closer to kissing her, only one person entered her mind. It was a familiar pink haired dragon slayer.

'Natsu...help me...'

Their lips were just inches away before a sudden crash interrupted their moment. Magnus pulled away and everyone turned their heads to see where the crash happened and it was just below the last step on the stairs that Mirajane took. "What happened?" Magnus yelled, getting pissed that something interrupted his wedding.

"It seems like something fell from the sky." Kranos replied.

"That's impossible, Kra-chan!"

"Please don't call me that."

"Baru-chan is guarding the skies so there is now way something could have fallen from the sky!" He told him and then ran toward the incident. When he got there, his eyes widened in horror as the dust cleared. "B-B-Baru-chan! W-What happened, Baru-chan!" He cried hysterically as the large black bird was knocked out on the stairs.

"W-What?" Magnus was shocked as much as Gras was.

"That black bird...was defeated?" Lucy couldn't believe it. "Who could have done it?" She looked at Erza and saw that she had a smirk on her face.

"Only one person we know could have done this..." Just as she said that, something else fell from the sky and crashed down right in front of Magnus and Mirajane. Both of them had their eyes widened as they saw a familiar pink colored hair in the small dust cloud that appeared with his arrival.

"Y-You..." Magnus was able to get out before the pink haired man delivered a strong right punch at the man's face, blowing him by the priest and into the archway, sending the stone arches crumbling down along with him.

"Hey asshole! Ready to get your ass kicked!" Mirajane couldn't help the tears that started forming in her eyes as the one person she hoped would arrive and help her, did. She dropped the bouquet of flowers and put her hands to her mouth, happy seeing the pink haired Dragon Slayer.

"N-Natsu! Arigatou!" She thanked him as she started crying. The others watched with cheerful faces.

"Don't forget about us!" A new voice appeared as everyone except for Natsu looked up to see Happy flying down toward them, carrying Levy who was waving her hand toward the others.

"Happy! Levy-chan!" Lucy exclaimed with a wide grin as Happy descended down toward them and dropped Levy onto her feet.

"Lulu-chan! Everyone! Don't worry! I finally was able to find a way to get rid of the spell!" She told them.

"Really?" Gray asked as she nodded her head. "That's awesome Levy!"

"Gray-sama praised someone else besides Juvia..." She cried in disappointment.

"Alright here we go!" Levy opened the book in her hand and started chanting something. When she finished, a large magic circle appeared under them and a few seconds later, the markings on their body was gone and they were able to move again.

"We can move!" Elfman stated, opening and closing his hand.

"Well done, Levy." Erza complimented the blue haired girl who sheepishly chuckled.

"Thank you!"

"Huh? Who are you?" Happy asked Juvia.

"Umm...I'm..."

"She's a friend Happy..." Gray told him.

"Oh...hi there! I'm happy!" He greeted her and she smiled.

"Hello there...I'm Juvia."

"Nee-chan!" Elfman shouted and ran toward his older sister.

"Elfman!" Mirajane turned around and ran toward him before giving her younger brother a hug.

"It's going to be okay." Elfman reassured her. "Everything is going to be alright." He felt himself smile over the fact that he was able to reunite with his sister. He then raised his head to look at Natsu who was staring at the rubble that punched Magnus into. "Natsu..."

"What is it?" He asked, not turning his head.

"Kick his ass!" Natsu smirked and then raised his arm, giving Elfman a thumb up.

"You got it! I'll let you guys take care of the others." He told them and they nodded their heads. He then walked toward the rubble. "Hey asshole! I know you're not dead! Get up so I can kick you ass more!"

"Hehehehe..." He chuckled as he came out of the rubble, moving debris out of his way. "...it's time for us to finally fight...huh, Salamander?" He said. Natsu made a noise in surprise when he took a closer look at the man's face.

'What the hell is up with his face...it's almost like...half of his face was melted off...' (Picture Two-Face from Batman, but not as gruesome)

"You know...you really shouldn't have done that...do you realize how much I had to go through to make this happen...and then you came and ruined everything!" He yelled. "It just pisses me off seeing your disgusting face!"

"Like you should be talking." Natsu stated.

"Oh boy...you shouldn't have said that..." Kranos sighed and put a hand to his forehead.

"You think I wanted my face to turn up like this!" He roared in anger. "My face became like this because of you!"

"Huh? What the hell are you talking about? I never met you before." Natsu told him. Magnus simply chuckled.

"Of course you didn't...I don't have time to explain...let me tell you ask you something Salamander...what is more powerful and hotter than flames?" He asked.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" It was at that moment that the weird feeling about Magnus that Mirajane had before returned and became ten times worse.

"Let me give you a hint...the answer is the thing is below us."

"Huh?" Magnus smirked and then clenched his fists. He then let out a mighty roar as his legs and arms started melting. "W-What the?" Natsu's eyes widened in surprise.

"Behold...Salamander! The power of magma!" He yelled as his legs and arms became magma.

"What the hell?" Natsu was speechless as the man raised his magma arm and then pointed it at Natsu. Natsu dodged the attack as Magnus slammed it down onto the ground just in front of the others. They backed away as the magma began flowing down to the ground. Natsu looked back at what was happening and looked down at the flowing magma. He realized to late at what Magnus was trying to do. "Oh crap!" The magma melted the ground as half of it started to descend down toward the crater of the volcano. Natsu started falling along with Magnus and the ground down toward the crater as everyone else watched. Mirajane looked on with eyes of horror.

"NATSU!"

**To Be Continued...**

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><p><strong>Author Notes:<strong> Hey everyone! I hope you liked the new chapter! Well, the next chapter is finally the chapter with the you know what. I'll try to get it done as quickly as I can. I know a lot of you had been waiting for it! Just remember that 'it' won't be seen here but on my profile from either AFF or yourFF. Check out my profile for the links. Until next time! Later!


	20. Natsu and Mirajane

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related which includes the characters of Fairy Tail.

**Rated M! You have been warned!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 20: Natsu and Mirajane<strong>

"Natsu!" Mirajane cried as she ran toward the edge of the cliff. She got down on her knees and stretched her her head to see what befell the Dragon Slayer. She grinned widely when she saw him using his flames as thrusters to keep himself airborne. "He's okay..." She sighed in relief.

"What are you looking at?" Mirajane turned her head to see her brother and the others glaring at Kranos and Feena. Gras was crying and trying to wake up the Barukan.

"Natsu will handle that bastard...so it's up to us to kick your asses!" Elfman roared, transforming himself into full beast mode.

"I knew you were going to do that." He stated.

"Like I care!" He charged and slammed his fist down at him. Kranos and Feena jumped back as his fists slammed against the ground.

"Just a heads up..." Kranos spoke as he landed back on his feet. "I wouldn't attack so aggressively."

"Shut up!" Elfman roared. He then charged, but he was stopped by Gray.

"Don't be an idiot, Elfman!" He shouted.

"Huh? What?" He asked.

"Gray's right. If you keep attacking recklessly like that, we could all follow in the same footsteps as Natsu." Erza told him. "Just calm down."

"R-Right...sorry..." He took deep breaths to calm down.

"Was it wise to tell them that?" Feena asked Kranos.

"It was if you didn't want to get killed." Kranos responded.

"Right..." She pushed her glasses up and then grabbed her staff from her back. "I guess we will let Magnus-sama handle the Salamander."

"Hey Gras! How long are you going to cry for!" Kranos called out to the youngest person of the group. They heard him sob, but he quickly stood up. He rubbed his forearm against his eyes to wipe away his tears.

"I hate them..." He cried. "I hate all of you...HOW DARE YOU DO THAT TO BARU-CHAN!" He screamed and when he did, he let out an ear piercing sound that caused the others to cover their ears.

"What the hell is this!" Gray shouted.

"Oh boy...he's crying again..." Kranos sighed.

"Is it wise for us to let him go into a rampage?" Feena asked.

"Well, it is a fight, but...he could destroy this entire cliff. It's not really a win-win situation." He told her and sighed.

"Damn it...will you shut up!" Elfman roared, getting annoyed and charged toward the kid. He stretched his arm out o grab a hold of the kid by his head, but his eyes widened when Gras jumped up and grabbed Elfman by his neck. "Gah!" Elfman tried to get him off his neck. "Let go..." He growled. Gras however wasn't doing so and continued choking the larger man.

"Elfman!" Gray shouted.

'W-What the hell is with this kid...?' He could feel the kid's grip tighten. 'How is he so strong?'

"Damn it. Let him go!" Gray went into his pose and prepared an attack.

"Sorry...but I won't let you do that..." Gray's eyes widened when Kranos appeared in front of him. He delivered a kick, which Gray blocked by putting up his arms. He slid away from Kranos and glared at him. "A swing of your sword from my right..." He said and as he predicted, Erza came in and swung her sword in her Black Wing Armor. Her eyes widened when he ducked to dodge her attack and then use his momentum to spin and deliver a kick straight to Erza's gut, but she flapped her wings to evade it.

"How did you know where I would attack?" She asked.

"It's because I can see a few seconds into the future." He replied. "So, trying a sneak attack on me won't work."

"Ice Make: Lance!" Kranos turned around and saw multiple attacks going at him. He dodged each one, while making his way toward Gray. Juvia noticed this and was not going to let him do something to her Gray-sama.

"Water Cane!" She created a whip of water and swung it at Kranos. Kranos predicted her doing so and started avoiding her attacks. At the same time, Erza charged towards him.

"Black Wing: Moon Slash!" Kranos turned around to see how he could avoid the attack, but he suddenly felt something wet on his legs and looked down to Juvia's water cane wrapped around his shin.

"Got you." She smirked. Kranos turned back around and raised his arms to defend himself from Erza's attack. It connected as his vest was torn apart and a few cuts appeared on his arms.

'Why didn't he know Juvia would grab his leg?' Gray wondered. 'If he could see the future then why?'

"Oh man...look what you did to my vest..." He groaned, examining his vest. He starting taking it off and looked over at Juvia. "I hope you don't faint after seeing me take off my vest..."

"Juvia is not going to..." She told him, still holding on his leg.

"Oh...so it only works for him, huh?" He pointed at Gray and he saw her blush. "Oh well...not like I care..." He tossed his vest and then started moving his neck from side to side. "Although, I'm impressed that you managed to hurt me."

"Why didn't you know Juvia would capture you?" Gray asked.

"How you know I didn't know?" He responded. "Let me tell you all something...seeing the future is boring. I never get surprised. It's a pain, but it gets so boring. I let her capture me so that I could give you guys at least a chance to defeat me."

"I doubt it." Erza responded. "If that was true then why is it that you didn't say anything about Natsu."

"Oh that...I thought it would be funny to see Magnus get punched." Gray sweat dropped.

"What the hell is with this guy?"

"I still don't believe it." Erza stated. "Seeing the future has to have some sort of disadvantage."

"I'm not saying your wrong, but let's see if you can find that out." He smirked and then clapped his hands together. He then started opening his hands and a sword started appearing. Once the sword appeared in full, he grabbed it and spun it around in his hands before pointing it at Erza. "You seem like a good swordsman, so how about me and you have a duel?"

"It won't be quite fair if you can see the future." Erza stated, but smirked. "But I guess that's what would make it exciting."

"Hahaha, that's the spirit!" He swung his sword to cut off Juvia's water cane and then charged at Erza.

* * *

><p>Lucy, Levy and Happy stared at the blond woman across from her. She held her staff towards her. "I hear you are a Celestial Spirit Mage." Feena said.<p>

"I am and what of it?" Lucy grabbed her whip.

"Nothing...I just find using spirits to fight for you instead of fighting yourself to be a little troublesome." She answered.

"I can fight without my Celestial Spirits!" Lucy yelled.

"Huh? Really?" Happy asked in shock.

"Be quiet!" She yelled at the cat.

"Oh...then how about you fight me without the help of your spirits?" Feena told her.

"Fine!" Lucy exclaimed, stretching her whip out. 'I know I can beat her...' She told herself. She swung her whip and was able to grab Feena's staff. She then tried pulling her whip, but it wouldn't budge. 'Why can't I...?' Her eyes widened when she felt herself get lifted from the ground and then slammed down onto the ground.

"Lucy!"

"Lulu-chan!"

"If you think you can try to steal my staff away, then you're mistaken. In fact, I doubt you could even touch me." Feena told her. She removed the whip from her staff and pointed it once again at Lucy. She jumped and tried slamming her staff straight down at Lucy. Lucy rolled to the side to avoid the contact.

'This is bad...' Lucy groaned as she felt pain. She flicked her whip back toward her. She got herself back her feet. "Take this!" She flicked her whip again at her. Feena slapped the whip with her staff and then rushed toward her. 'Oh no...' Lucy's eyes widened as Feena tried stabbing Lucy in the stomach. Lucy dodged by waving to side. She then flicked back her whip and hit Feena in her back. Lucy smirked that she made contact.

"Looks like I got you!" Feena was on one knee and she pushed back her glasses once again.

"You did it, Lucy!"

"Lulu-chan!"

"You got lucky. But do you really think you could defeat me with a simple attack like that?" Feena glared at her.

"Of course not..." Lucy smiled as Happy cheered her on, waving flags with her face on them around. 'There has to be something I can do...maybe if I steal her staff somehow...' The only way she could think of a way to steal her staff was to do the same thing she tried the first time, but she knew she wasn't strong enough to just snatch away the staff from her grasps. She heard the jingling sound from her keys, but she ignored it.

"I'm not going to wait for you to make a move you know." Feena told her and then slammed her staff down on the ground, did a front flip and then swung her staff down at Lucy. She jumped away to avoid it, covering her head with her hands. "I suggest you stop running."

"So you could hit me!" Lucy yelled.

"Of course, it would save me some trouble." Feena answered. Lucy glared at the woman. She had to think of something.

"Don't worry Lulu-chan! I'll help you!" Levy gave Happy the book she brought along with her. She wrote the word fire in front of her and then outstretched her arms and spun around. "Solid Script :Heat Spell!" The words fire turned into a flame and were shot right at Feena. Feena took her staff and then spun it around as the flames were being deflected.

"Sorry...but you have to try something a bit better than that." Feena told them as soon as the flame disappeared.

"What should we do, Lulu-chan?" Levy asked her.

"Levy-chan...can you create anything with your magic?"

"Hai...?"

"Then that gives me an idea!" Both Levy and Happy blinked at her.

"I don't know what you are planning...but don't expect me to wait around for you to do something!" Feena charged, preparing her staff to strike them.

"Levy...can you create something slippery?" Lucy asked her.

"Right!" Levy then began writing a word in front of her. "Sold Script: Oil!" She wrote oil as a large stream of oil poured out of the word towards Feena.

"Hmph...like I'd let such sticky and disgusting stuff touch me!" She told them and then jumped over the large puddle of oil. She raised her staff above her head and prepared to slam it down on the three.

"Levy-chan...spray the oil on her!" Lucy shouted.

"Right!" Levy redirected her spell upward and Freena's eyes widened as the oil was shot at her. She quickly placed her staff in front of her and then did the same thing as she did with the the fire and spun her staff.

"That's enough, Levy-chan."

"Huh? O-Okay." She stopped her spell as Feena dropped back down to the ground.

"Hmph...I don't know what you tried to pull..." She lifted her glasses. "But whatever it was it..." Her eyes widened when she felt her staff become moist and slippery with the oil. "I see...but what do you..." She raised her head to look at Lucy. She gasped when she saw Lucy flick her whip as it wrapped around her staff. She then pulled it back and unlike before where Feena had a firm grip on it, the staff slipped through her hands and toward the three. "You..."

"Got it!" Lucy grinned. "Eww..." She then said after feeling the oil on her bare hands.

"I see! So that's what you were planning Lulu-chan!" Levy exclaimed.

"Yeah..." She chuckled nervously, her fingers holding the staff to make sure it didn't slip out of her hands. "Levy...can you...?" She asked and she nodded her head in understanding.

"Yep!" She wrote the words water in front of her. "Solid Script: Water!" Water came out of the word, drenching the staff.

"Yosh!" Lucy grinned, feeling the staff not being so slippery anymore and then turned toward Feena. "Prepare yourself!" She said and then charged at her.

"Go Lucy!" Happy cheered.

"Take this!" She swung her staff. However, it was easily dodged by Feena.

"Your attacks...are too wide..." She told her and dodged another swing. "Do you really plan on defeating me with attacks that are so easy to dodge? Especially from someone who never used a staff before." She dodged again.

"Take this!" She swung her staff again, but she still wasn't able to hit her. She tried once more, but this time it was caught by Feena. "W-What?"

"Like I said...someone who never used a staff can't beat someone who learned how to use it for years." She told her and then kicked Lucy in the gut. Lucy was forced to let go of the staff as she fell on her back.

"Lulu-chan!" Levy screamed in worry. Feena then turned toward her.

"It would be best if I deal with you first. That magic of yours is quite troublesome." She then ran at her. Levy stood her ground and prepared to take her on. She started writing another word.

"Solid Script: Hole!" The word was placed on the ground in front of her. Instead of running straight through like Levy hoped, Feena jumped up and raised her arms to strike Levy.

Levy raised her arms up to take cover and prepare herself from getting hit. However she never did and when she opened her eyes, she saw a large figure appear in front of her, his axe blocking her staff. "Mooo! I won't let you hurt one of Lucy's friends!" Taurus mooed as he pushed Feena away.

"You..." Feena narrowed her eyes at Taurus and then turned her head to see Lucy looking at her with a key in her hand. "I thought you said you wouldn't use your spirits?"

"Sorry...but I was foolish to think I could win without my spirits." She started.

"Lucy..." Happy frowned.

"I'm not saying I'm not strong...maybe I'm not as strong as Erza, but that doesn't mean I can't depend on my friends! It's because of them that I am strong. I don't need physical strength to win. You can say all you want, but I know that without my spirits I can't protect the smiles on my friends. Which is why I won't try something like that again! I know what my strength is. I'm Lucy Heartfilia and I'm a Celestial Spirit Mage!" She proclaimed as Taurus smirked, Levy smiled and Happy had a grin on his face.

"Well said, Lucy." Erza said as she landed on her feet behind her.

"Erza..." The scarlet knight smirked at her before flying back to continue her fight with Kranos. Lucy nodded her head and looked back at Feena. "Alright Taurus! Defeat her!"

"Moo! As you wish, Lucy-san!" Taurus mooed again and then swung his axe at Feena. Feena gritted her teeth and raised her staff to block the axe. She was successful, but the force of the attack was too great for her and it pushed her away. She watched as Taurus charged at her. She quickly began dodging the axe, using her quickness to an advantage. She managed to get several hits by her staff whenever she had the opportunity, but for some reason it didn't have any effect on the large bull.

"W-Why aren't my attacks working?" She asked.

"That's because..." Lucy lifted her head with a smirk. "...Taurus is a big pervert and getting hit by a woman makes him happy!"

"W-What!" Feena screamed and had a look of shock on her face.

"Mooooo! Lucy-san knows me the best after all!" He shouted with his eyes turning into hearts.

"Lulu-chan..." Levy sweat dropped.

"That's Lucy's spirits for ya!" Happy added.

"Now Taurus! Win!" Lucy proclaimed.

"As you wish!" Taurus exclaimed and charged at Feena. She gritted her teeth and backed away at the charging bull.

"I guess I have no choice but to use that." She placed her staff in front of her. She then poured her magic into her staff as it began to glow a light green color. "Tempus: Kamikaze Death Scythes!" She spun her staff around and created a gust of wind that zoomed straight at Taurus, who stopped and put his axe in front of him to block the gust of wind. He lowered it slightly to see what was going to happen next and his eyes widened when he saw light green colored air compressed projectiles at him. He locked his shoulders and took the full blown of the attack as new cuts appeared around his body.

"Taurus!" Lucy screamed in horror as she saw her spirit take damage right in front of her. The attack dwell down as Taurus fell to his knees and his axe dropped to the ground. He was able to hold himself up with his hands as he panted, feeling pain throughout his body. "Taurus...why didn't you dodge? Lucy asked, feeling tears in her eyes.

"Because..." He spoke. "If I did...then Lucy-san would get hurt...as a spirit...that would be worse than death..." He told her.

"Taurus..." She felt tears in her eyes getting ready to fall.

"Don't worry about me...Lucy-san...I will protect you because that is my duty as a spirit..." He told her and then smiled at her. He then turned back around and steadily stood back up. He grabbed his axe and then clenched it tightly. He then started moving forward.

"W-What? How are you still...?" Feena asked in shock as she felt all her magic power leave her body from that one attack. She started backing away. "No...get back..."

"I will...not let you...hurt Lucy-san..."

"Taurus..."

"...and her breasts!"

"You still think about that!" Happy screamed in shock. Lucy however chuckled at him.

"No...get back...get ba-" She didn't get to finish as she fell into the solid script spell that Levy put on the ground before.

"She fell..." Levy muttered. Taurus looked down into the hole and saw that she lost consciousness when she fell into the hole. He let out a sigh and turned around to face Lucy. He then grinned and gave her a thumb up.

"We win..." He said.

"Y-Yeah..." She smiled back at Taurus who then returned to the Celestial Spirit World. 'Thank you...Taurus...'

"You did it, Lucy!" Happy cheered, flying toward her.

"Lulu-chan!" Levy followed and then hugged her friend.

"Thanks..." Lucy smiled and hugged her back.

* * *

><p>Elfman couldn't believe how strong the little kid was. He tried to get him off of him, but his arms couldn't reach. He tried shaking him off, but his grip was too tight and Elfman was losing oxygen. He fell down to a knee. 'Damn it...' He groaned in anger.<p>

"Elfman!" He heard his sister cry. At the sound of her voice, his eyes widened and he found the strength to get back up on his feet. He had to get the kid off of him. Since he couldn't reach him, he jumped up and then fell back down on his back. He heard the kid make a sound at the contact and felt his small arms come off of his neck. He got up and rolled off of the kid. He took the time to catch his breath and looked down at the kid. Once he caught his breath, he stood up on his feet.

"You people hurt, Baru-chan." Elfman's eyes widened and looked to see Gras on all fours. His skin suddenly turned into a reddish brown color and his eyes were completely white.

"W-What the hell...?" He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"I WILL MAKE YOU PAY!" He roared and then just attacked Elfman, pushing him back down to the ground. Elfman laid on his back as he watched the kid raise his arm and then punch him in the stomach. Elfman couldn't believe how strong the punch was. It was so strong that it made him cough up blood and create cracks around his body. Gras however wasn't finished as he lifted his other arm and punched Elfman again.

At the sound of Elfman's pain, Mirajane screamed out his name. "Elfman!" Gray heard this and looked over at the two and his eyes widened as he saw Gras deliver punches straight down to his fellow guild members stomach. He looked over at Erza and saw her clashing swords against Kranos.

'She could handle him...' He then ran toward Elfman to help him. Juvia saw her Gray-sama run toward Elfman and followed. Gras continued to punch Elfman, this time aimed it at his face.

"WRAAAHHHH!" He roared and went to deliver the final blow, but Gray was able to freeze his arm just in time. Gras turned his head to look at the person who froze his arm and growled at him.

'This kid...' Gray's eyes widened. Gras grabbed the ice and clenched it as hard as he could. The ice began to crack before shattering. The rampaging kid then charged at Gray. "Crap...he's fast..." Gray started leaning back to avoid getting hit by one of his punches.

"Water lock!" Juvia stopped Gras' movements with a large sphere of water. Gray turned his head to look at Juvia and then smiled at her.

"Thanks." He said and it caused Juvia to blush and turn her eyes into hearts.

"Anything for you, Gray-sama!" Gray only sweat dropped at her and then turned back to Gras. He got into position and then called out his attack.

"Ice Make: Freeze!" He said while the sphere of water started freezing. He completely froze the sphere with Gras in it. "That should keep that kid quiet." He sighed.

"Are you sure about that?" He heard Kranos speak as he backed away from Erza. "Do you want to know what Gras is?"

"What?"

"He is a wild animal."

"Huh?"

"Why do you think Gras was able to befriend the Barukan so easily? It's not just because the Barukan doesn't like killing kids, but it's because Gras is an animal himself. He is able to make friends with any vicious beasts that roam this world, except for mythical beasts like Dragons of course. The reason is because he when he gets upset or angry, he turns into a rampaging animal. It's a special type of magic called Berserk. It causes his blood to boil and his animal instincts to take over. With that, his physical strength becomes five times that of a humans."

"Why are you telling us this?" Gray asked.

"Because...something like a little ice won't stop him." He smirked and then charged once again at Erza. Gray turned his head around at the sound of cracking and his eyes widened as his ice was slowly breaking.

"Crap..." He got into his stance to prepare for the kid's monster strength to be released. The ice shattered and just as Gray predicted, he was heading for him with his right arm raised and fist clenched.

"WRAAAHHHH!" The kid roared.

"Ice Make..." He began, but stopped when he saw a large figure appear behind Gras.

"You bastard kid!" Elfman roared and delivered a strong punch at his back, slamming him straight down to the ground. The blow caused a small shake as the others stopped their fights to see what happened and they were able to look just in time to see Elfman slam a strong punch down at Gras.

"Oooh...that's scary..." Kranos commented. "But he really shouldn't have done that." He said and looked over to where Mirajane was. Erza looked as well and her eyes widened as she saw a crack begin to spread just in front of Mirajane.

"Oh no! Mira!" She screamed. It was too late as the crack caused more of the cliff to break apart and everyone watched in horror as Mirajane began falling down toward the volcano, the same way Natsu did.

"NEE-CHAN!" Elfman screamed.

Mirajane screamed as loud as she could as she started falling down toward the volcano. "Natsu!"

* * *

><p>A few moments ago...<p>

Natsu was glad that he was able to fly, otherwise he would have fallen straight down into the lava. He searched around for Magnus, but didn't see him anywhere. The parts of the cliff that fell landed straight down into the lava, but only the smaller debris melted. He wondered if Magnus fell into the lava. He thought right as he watched something come out of the lava and land onto one of the hard molten rocks that weren't melted by the lava.

"So...he can go into the lava and not melt..." Natsu deduced as he lowered himself down to the same large rock and glared at Magnus.

"How do you like my territory, Salamander? Is it too hot for you?" He smirked and chuckled.

"No...this is perfect for me." He smirked back.

"Oh really, but I wonder how long you can handle being inside this volcano?"

"What makes you think I can't?"

"Because, one false step and you can easily fall into the lava and get killed." When he said that, his arms became magma again and he launched a stream of magma at Natsu. Natsu dodged to the right and than ran toward Magnus. Magnus continued to launch streams of magma at Natsu, who continued to dodge while running toward Magnus. When he was close enough, Natsu engulfed his fist into a powerful flame and threw a fist at him. Magnus didn't dodge and simply let him attack him in the gut. Natsu's eyes suddenly widened as he felt his arm begin to burn at an intense level. He looked at his stomach and saw that his body became magma as well and his fist was covered with it. He quickly pulled away and jumped back as far as he could.

"Ahh!" He hissed in pain as he looked at his hand to see it lightly darkened. 'Damn it...it burns...I can't believe this...' He winced as he clenched his fist. He looked up to see his opponent smirking.

"What's the matter? I thought you could handle a little heat." Natsu gritted his teeth in anger.

'Damn...it doesn't look like I'll be able to win so easily.' Natsu clenched both his fists, ignoring the pain in his right hand, and slammed them together. 'Flame of Rebuke!' His flames grew in size as some golden flames became mixed in with regular colored flames.

"These flames...are the same ones you used to defeat that demon, isn't it?" Magnus said, eying the weird looking flames.

"They are...how do you know about that?" He asked.

"Because I saw your fight with him. To be honest, I was a little impressed, but not that impressed to think you could defeat me." He smirked.

"We'll see about that!" Natsu shouted and increased the heat of his flames. Once he was set, he charged at him again.

"Are you stupid or something! Don't you remember what happened last time? Do you really want to lose an arm?" He laughed as he just stood still, letting his idiocy be his downfall. Natsu clenched his fists and then jumped into the air. 'Hmm...what is he planning?'

"Flame of Rebuke in right hand! Lightning Flame Dragon in my left!" He shouted as his right hand had the flame of rebuke and his left hand had lightning mixed with his flames. He then slammed his hands together and combined his flames together before directing it straight down toward Magnus. "Lighting Flame Dragon's Brilliant Flame!" The attack connected and created a large explosion of fire and lightning. Natsu landed back down as the large rock they stood on got smaller. Natsu wasn't sure if he won or not, but waited patiently in case the fight wasn't over. The dust cloud settled and Magnus was no longer in front of him. He looked around in case he was hiding somewhere. "Where are you!"

"Right here!" Natsu's eyes widened as his magma formed appeared behind him. Natsu turned his head to see his magma coming straight toward him.

'Crap!' Natsu opened his hands to face Magnus and then ignited them. He was luckily able to avoid getting his insides burned to a crisp by using his flames as thrusters to push him away. Magnus didn't stop and followed right behind Natsu. Natsu looked behind him and saw Magnus following him. The two began roaming around the crater, Magnus launching streams of magma in his direction.

"Don't think you can get away!" He shouted. "Magma...Eruption!" He created several magic circles on the lava below them and Natsu looked down to see a geyser of magma come up toward him.

"Oh shit!" He cursed and evaded the geyser, but that was not it as before he could straighten up, another geyser of lava erupted towards him. 'Shit...' He looked back and saw Magnus was still following him and now started shooting streams of magma at him again. Natsu was having a difficult time evading both of these attacks, but was managing, but who know show long that would last.

"HAHAHA! You can't run Salamander!" Natsu heard him shout and his laughter was getting louder and louder, telling Natsu that he was catching up to him. It was long before he could sense Magnus right behind him.

Natsu took a deep breath, turned around while using his feet to thrust him in the same direction and then initiated his attack. "Lightning Flame Dragon's Roar!" He breathed out as Magnus transformed into magma to avoid getting the full blown of the attack. The attack caused the magma eruptions to stop. Natsu kept his eyes and ears alert in case he decided some sort of sneak attack. He suddenly heard rumbling and turned his head to see the cliff that his friends were on start to crumble down toward the volcano.

"Natsu!" His eyes widened at the sound of Mirajane's voice.

"Mira!" He called back out and flew as fast as he could toward her. He couldn't see at first, but saw her in between some of the debris and increased the flames on his feet to get to her as fast as he possibly could. Mira closed her eyes as tightly as possible, hoping the person she called out to would save her. She suddenly felt warm, strong hands behind her back and under her legs. She opened her eyes and saw the very familiar pink hair. She smiled.

"Natsu!" Natsu looked at her and gave her a small smile before looking back up to find a place for her to stay safe. He found such a place and took her to a ledge that was close to the top of the volcano. He landed on the ledge and placed her down.

"Are you okay?" He asked and she nodded her head. He sighed in relief.

"That's good. What happened?" He asked.

"The others were fighting and it caused the ground to shake until the ledge I was on started collapsing." She told him. She then suddenly hugged him, which caught Natsu by surprise.

"M-Mira..." He asked confused.

"I'm so glad you came to rescue me!" She told, hugging him tightly.

"Hey, I wouldn't let anyone kidnap one of my nakama and get away with it." He told her and she pulled away. She smiled at him and nodded her head.

"Yeah...I know..." She replied. He nodded.

"SALAMANDER!" They both gasped as they heard Magnus yelling from down below.

"Crap! I almost forgot about him." Natsu muttered. He turned around and was preparing to make his way back down to face him. However, he suddenly felt Mirajane grab his vest.

"Natsu..." She whispered. He turned around and looked at her.

"Mira...I have to go."

"I know...but promise me you won't die." He made a noise in surprise. He was surprised by what she said, but then smiled.

"Here." He said and she was surprised when he handed her his scarf.

"W-What?"

"Hold onto that for me. I don't want it to get burned by that bastard. Also, it's my way of saying that I won't die, so don't let go of it until I get back, okay!" He grinned at her. Mirajane blushed and clutched the scarf tightly. She nodded and smiled.

"Alright." He gave one more nod before flying back down to face Magnus. Mira pressed the scarf closer to her and couldn't help but smile. She knew how important the scarf was to him and the fact that he was telling her to hold onto it meant that he trusted her with it. She blushed as she clutched the scarf even closer to her.

"Salamander!" Magnus yelled again as he watched Natsu descend toward him.

"You called, you ugly bastard!" He remarked and then puffed his cheek. "Lightning Flame Dragon's Roar!" He launched another dragon's roar. Magnus didn't attempt to dodge and instead turned his body into magma and let the attack go right through him. Natsu landed on the same molten rock he was on and then glared at him.

"Where is your scarf?"

"Why the hell should I tell you?"

"I see...so you gave it to her..." Natsu stayed silent. "Tell me, Salamander. Do you know why I kidnapped Mira?"

"So you could marry her..." He started to chuckle at his answer.

"Well yeah, but there is another reason why. You see...she was my first love..."

"Okay and..." Natsu said without a care in the world. "That doesn't give you the right to marry her!"

"Oh and what gives you the right to be with her!" He yelled back.

"What are you talking about?"

"Are you stupid or something?"

"I'm not stupid, you are!"

"I can't believe she fell for an childish idiot like you." He shook his head in disappointment. Natsu made a noise in surprise at his words.

"W-What?"

"Don't you get it...Mira likes you!"

"I like her too, so what?" Natsu responded as Magnus looked at him in disbelief.

"It's unbelievable how stupid you are." He shook his head.

"I'm not stupid and get ready to get your ass kicked!" He pointed at him.

"Hmph...you really are an idiot...fine then...I guess it's time for me to use that technique." He smirked and then jumped backwards, falling into the lava.

"Huh? What the hell is he planning?" Suddenly, a large geyser of lava came out from each side of Natsu. "This technique again..." However, it wasn't the same technique as the top of the geysers formed into the heads of a monster Natsu never seen before. "W-What the hell is this?" The two magma shaped monsters let out a roar and before Natsu knew it, the two heads were heading in his direction. "Crap!" Natsu flew away just before the lava beasts touched him and once again began the cat and mouse chase. Natsu got tired of it and as one of the lava monsters came his way, he once puffed his cheeks. "Fire Dragon's Roar!" He attacked with a simpler dragon roar as he watched the head of the beast get destroyed. 'Got it!' His eyes widened, when he saw the long stream of magma split itself into two and form two more beasts. "You got to be kidding me!"

"Magma Form: Hydra!" Magnus shouted.

"Huh? Where are you!" Natsu yelled back looking around for his opponent.

"Like I would tell you!" He yelled back and Natsu couldn't say anything as the two new monster heads charged at him.

"Shit!" Natsu turned on his flames and flew away. "Damn it...where the hell is he?"

* * *

><p>When Elfman saw his sister begin to fall, he rushed as fast as he could toward her. However, he knew no matter how fast he ran, he wouldn't be able to save her. However, he still tried, but before he could get any closer, Gras stood up and then slammed into Elfman's back. "Gah!" He yelled in pain as he fell face first.<p>

"What! That kid is still alive!" Gray shouted in shock.

"Damn it..." Elfman groaned as he pushed himself up. 'What the hell is the matter with me? I couldn't save Nee-chan! I can't even beat this kid! Why am I so weak!' He growled in frustration.

"Wraaahhhh!" The kid roared and started running toward Elfman again like a rabid wolf.

Elfman saw him coming toward him and used all his strength to get up, but Gras punched him before he could defend himself. He spat out more blood and pushed back further. Elfman fell to one knee as he started breathing heavily. Gras, however wasn't going to wait for him and charged again. "Ice Make..."

"Don't!" Elfman yelled at Gray. Gray made a noise in surprise. He looked at Elfman and saw the determination in his eyes. He put his arms down.

"Wraaaahhh!" Gras growled and jumped toward Elfman. Elfman clenched his fist and threw a punch. Gras did the same and their fists connected. A small, but strong gust of wind exploded at the contact as Elfman's feet were being dug into the ground. They then pulled their fists back before punching each other with their other fists. The same thing happened as they continued to punch each others fists.

"Damn it!" Elfman tried landing a hook, but Gras ducked and then upper cut Elfman. He groaned in pain and was lifted off his feet. However, he wasn't going to let the kid take advantage and crossed his arms in front of him as Gras punched his arms. Elfman groaned from the strong attack, but pushed Gras away from. Gras landed on all fours and growled at Elfman. "You brat..."

"Wraaah!" He roared.

"What the hell are we watching?" Gray asked in disbelief.

"Two beasts fighting one another...Juvia is amazed."

"Damn you! I won't lose!" Elfman charged and raised his arm. He went to slam his fist straight down on his head, but Gras jumped up, making Elfman stop his punch before it hit the ground and then looked up. He watched as Gras tried to slam his own small fist down at Elfman's head. Elfman moved slightly to the side and then grabbed his his wrist. He then lifted him up and slammed him down like a rag doll. He didn't stop however, and then lifted him up again and slammed him down again. He heard him let out another growl. "Come on! What the hell is wrong with you!" He yelled and slammed him down again. He tried doing it again, but as soon as he did, Gras spit in his face. Elfman released him and Gras dropped to the ground before slamming his head into his gut. "Gah!" He spat out blood from the force of the attack.

"Wraaah!" Gras dropped to the ground and connected with another uppercut.

"Elfman!" Gray shouted and went to get into position.

"Don't do it!" Elfman yelled. Gray once again stopped and looked at Elfman. He gritted his teeth in anger before lowering his hands.

"Gray-sama..." Juvia frowned.

Elfman panted as he looked down at the growling kid. He saw blood running down his temple. He could taste his own blood at the end corner of his mouth. He wiped it away. 'I can't let Gray help me...I have to get stronger...if I can't even beat this kid...what chance do I have to protect Nee-chan if anything like this happened to her again...I have to get stronger...for Nee-chan...and for myself...the guild...and...for Lisanna!' He then once again charged at Gras. Gras did as well and ran toward Elfman like a rabid wolf. He jumped up and punched Elfman in the face. Elfman stood his ground and carried his momentum to punch him back as well. The two beasts began to throw fist after fist at each other. Gray and Juvia looked on in both disbelief and amazement.

"Take this!" He clenched his fist as tightly as he could and punched Gras a shard as he could with what strength he had left. Gras crashed into the ground and skidded some feet away from Elfman before rolling to a stop. Elfman took deep breaths as he looked at Gras. His eyes widened when he saw him start to move again.

"You got to be kidding me..." Gray said in disbelief. Elfman stared at the boy as he struggled to get up. He then started walking over to him. "Elfman?" Gray wondered what he was going to do. Elfman looked down at him as Gras grabbed his leg to help get himself up. Without warning, he bit Elfman in the leg. He winced in pain, but didn't do anything. He then lowered himself and grabbed Gras by the back of his shirt and raised him. He looked at him as Gras tried to claw at him. Elfman could tell that he was no longer conscious and was only fighting on instinct.

"I'm sorry..." Elfman began. "We hurt your friend and because of that...you became like this. I know that feeling very well." He said as Gray frowned at him. "It's unfortunate that we had to meet like this because I think I could have helped you in some way. But you are a man, right! So be a man because you are a man!" Gray sweat dropped.

"He's just a kid..."

"That doesn't matter!" He yelled back. "He is still a ma-" Elfman winced in pain as Gras managed to grab onto his arm and bite down on it. "Stop biting me!" He shouted and slammed him down to the ground again. However, not even that was enough to knock the rampaging Gras out. He continued to bite his arm, but there was no effort put into it. Seeing as how talking wasn't going to do anything, Elfman decided on the only thing he could think of. He punched Gras one more time.

"Oi..." Gray whispered.

When Elfman saw that he didn't move, he sighed in relief. He then remembered his sister and went over to the cliff, hoping that she was safe. When he got over to the ledge, he looked down and his eyes widened as he saw Natsu flying around while being chased by what looked like a monster made out of the lava in the volcano. "W-What is that?" He wondered, but forgot about it as he looked for his sister. He finally was able to see her at the ledge just below where they were, looking down at Natsu's fight. He sighed in relief at seeing his sister was safe and sound.

"Umm...Elfman...we have a problem..." Gray told him.

"Huh? What is it?" He turned around and his eyes widened when he saw the big black bird that Natsu took out, slowly rise. The Barukan shook it's head as he glared down to see what was happening. He then noticed Gras. Lowering his head, he pushed Gras softly with it's beak. He didn't move. He tried again, but he still didn't move. He then lifted his head and let out a mighty roar.

"Ahh! So loud!" Gray shouted, covering his ears as did Elfman, Juvia and the others.

"Oh boy...that bird woke up..." Kranos said a bit annoyed.

The Barukan closed it's beak and then slammed it down at Juvia and Gray, who managed to avoid it, but were pushed away from each other. "This is bad..." Gray gritted his teeth as the Barukan raised it's head. "If that bird keeps doing that we'll all be fallen into the volcano." Gray gritted his teeth.

"I'll handle it..." Elfman told him and transformed once again into his full beast mode. The Barukan then slammed it's beak down at Elfman. Elfman grabbed a hold of the bird's beak to stop it from smashing it against the ground, but the force caused Elfman's feet to push itself down into the ground. "Damn it..." Elfman groaned as the Barukan pushed down on him. "Gray!"

"Right!" Gray got into position. "Ice Make: Lance!" He shouted and shot lances at the Barukan. The Barukan noticed the attack and raised it's wing to block the lances. "What...it didn't do anything!" Gray shouted in disbelief as he saw no harm done to the large bird.

"Crap..." Elfman cursed as he felt himself get lifted off the ground.

"Elfman!" Gray shouted as he watched his comrade get tossed into the air. Elfman groaned and looked up. His eyes widened when he saw the Barukan appear above him. He put his arms up to defend himself when he saw the beak headed toward him.

"Water dome!" A large dome of water appeared around Elfman as the Barukan's attack hit the water dome, bouncing Elfman down to the ground. Once he made contact with the ground, the water dome was released, leaving a large pile of water around him.

"Nice one, Juvia!" Gray complimented her.

"Anything for you, Gray-sama!" She exclaimed, hearts as eyes. However, she stopped when a large shadow surrounded her from behind.

"Watch out!" Gray ran as fast as he could toward her. Juvia turned her head and her eyes widened when she saw the Barukan begin to raise its wing. He then swung it down at her. She closed her eyes, awaiting the impact. "Ice Make: Shield!" She heard Gray shout and turned around to see a large shield of ice appear behind her. The shield was strong enough to stop the Barukan's attack. "Ice Make: Hammer!" He created a large hammer and then jumped up. He swung as hard as he could at the beak of the bird. The blow made the Barukan's neck turn the other way. He then moved his hands so that he could slam the hammer straight down on the beak. The hammer shattered at contact and because of it, lost the full power behind the attack. The Barukan glared at Gray who was getting ready to use another spell. "Ice Make: Ice Cannon!" He created a large cannon and then shot a large cannonball of ice at the Barukan.

"Gray-sama!" Juvia blushed at the sight of her beloved fighting against the monster bird. The blast knocked the Barukan back. Gray then noticed that none of his attacks were working effectively against the feathers.

'Damn it...what the hell?' Gray cursed. 'How the hell can I beat a monster bird if none of my attacks are working at all!' He didn't even know Natsu was able to knock the bird out. He knew Natsu got very strong after two years, but was there really a difference in strength between himself and Natsu. He clenched his ice cannon tightly. It pissed him off. 'Come on...think...attacking his feathers won't do anything...so what the hell can I do?' He looked at the bird and his eyes widened as he saw his beak descending down at him. Gray jumped away as the Barukan's beak smashed into the ground.

"I have to help Gray-sama somehow..." Juvia muttered. "I know..." She then raised her arm and created multiple blade like bullets. "Water Slicer!" She launched the bullets at the Barukan.

"You..." Gray muttered at her and then looked back at the Barukan. He then noticed something. Whether it was because of Juvia's attacks or not, there was a crack in the metal plate that covered the Barukan's eyes and nose and saw it flinch when some of Juvia's attacks hit the crack. 'I see...so that's where it's weakness...' Gray set himself and his cannon and then aimed it at the crack. He then fired. "Take this!" He shouted and was pushed back by the recoil as the cannonball struck the crack. The Barukan raised it's head and roared in pain. The small crack became wider. "Found it's weakness!" He said and dropped his ice cannon. He then charged at the bird.

"Wraaahhh!" The Barukan roared and saw Gray running toward. He glared at him before slamming his beak down at him. Gray jumped and started climbing his neck as the beak smashed into the ground again. Gray got as high as he could and then did a back flip before getting into his ice make position.

"Ice Make: Sword!" He created a sword in his hand and then pointed it straight down. He then descended down toward the Barukan as it began to raise it's head. "Take this!" He stabbed his sword straight down on the crack on the metal plate. The sword impaled the Barukan. The crack became bigger before parts of it shattered.

"Wraaahhhh!" He cried in pain and lifted his head up as Gray did his best to hold on to the bird. However, he couldn't and he started falling back down to the ground. He prepared to create a slide so that he could land safely back on the ground. However, the Barukan had other ideas as it's anger made him quickly turn it's head and glare at Gray.

"Shi-" He couldn't finish as the Barukan slammed it's beak right into his chest.

"Gray-sama!" Juvia screamed in horror as her beloved crashed straight down at the ground, spitting out blood in the process. He started coughing up blood as he felt his entire abdomen hurt like hell.

"Damn it...it fucking hurts..." He winced and looked up to see the Barukan preparing to attack him with his beak again. 'Damn it...got to get away...'

"I won't let you hurt Gray-sama!" Juvia yelled as her anger exploded at the thought of her beloved getting killed. "Sierra!" She let her anger take over as she transformed herself into water and launched herself at the Barukan.

"W-Wait...Juvia..." He tried to call out to her, but he couldn't raise his voice because of his pain. Juvia slammed collided with the Barukan's beak and was pushed away as if he was suddenly punched.

"Aaaaahhh!" She screamed and hit the Barukan again, this time on the other side. Gray was amazed at how much damage she was probably dealing to the bird after he managed to crack open a part of the metal plate. The Barukan tried to follow her, but she was moving too quickly for him to follow. He was attack once again and stumbled a bit. Juvia went in for the kill as she was prepared to deliver a final blow to the Barukan, but using it's instinct, managed to know where she was going to attack and then slammed it's wing. Sending Juvia crashing down to the ground.

"Juvia!" Gray shouted as he watched her get hit by the Barukan. 'Damn it...why can't I...protect any of my friends!' He clenched his fists tightly. He then ignored the pain and started getting up. 'I can't be this weak...I have to protect them...damn it!' He slowly started standing up. "Waaaaahhhhh!" He screamed as he gave one final burst of strength and stood up. He then glared at the Barukan. "Alright you bird brain..." He panted, spitting out some blood in his mouth. "I'm going to kick your fucking ass!" He declared and then got into position. "Ice Make...King Kong!" He slammed his fist down as a large gorilla made out of ice appeared in front of him. The Barukan glared at the new creature in front of him and the large gorilla glared right back.

"Wraaaaahhhhh!" The gorilla let out its loud war call and them smashed it's paws against its chest. Gray dropped to a knee as he felt himself using almost all of his magic.

'Damn it...I can't hold on for long...I have to beat this bird now!' At the thought, the gorilla charged at the bird. The Barukan tried slamming his wing against the gorilla, but he caught it with its hands and then used it's free hand to punch the Barukan in the gut. The Barukan let out a piercing scream at the contact. The bird backed away, but the gorilla didn't let it get too far or fly away. The gorilla then wrapped it's arms around the gorilla. "Ahhhhhh!" Gray screamed releasing every ounce of magic he had left and watched as the gorilla jump into the air. Gray waited patiently as the gorilla slammed the Barukan's head into the ground at the ground level of the volcano, making sure they didn't crash anywhere near the ground he and the others stood on. As soon as the attack finished, the gorilla shattered and all that was left was an unconscious black bird laying out on the ground. "I did it..." Gray laughed and let out a big sigh of relief. He then looked over at Juvia and started crawling toward her. "Oi Juvia..." He called out to her. He slightly pushed her and heard her groan, telling him that she was okay. He sighed once more. 'Damn...this shouldn't have happened...I need to get stronger...I need to get stronger...' He clenched his fists before looking up at the sky.

* * *

><p>Erza and Kranos collided with their swords before pushing each other away. "You are pretty skilled with a sword." Erza stated.<p>

"Thanks for the compliment, but I'm not as good as you." He told her. "The rumors about you are frighteningly true."

"Flattering me won't make me go easy on you." She told him.

"Hahaha! Not expecting you to!" He yelled and swung his sword down as hard as he could as Erza blocked it. They got themselves into another round of strikes, each one blocked by each others swords. They then pushed one another away and the two glared at each other. "Let me ask you something. What is it about you mages at Fairy Tail?"

"What about us?"

"I always hear stuff about how strong you all are, that you cause destruction where ever you go and always get complaints from the Magic Council. Yet, I wonder what exactly is so special about you all?"

"It's because we consider ourselves family. We protect each other and fight for each other. As long as we have that, it doesn't matter what obstacles we have to go through." Erza answered.

"Family...huh?" He chuckled. He then suddenly grabbed his head and winced in pain. Erza made a noise in surprise as he looked like he was in tremendous pain. He then calmed down and he let out a sigh. "Damn...I just saw something unpleasant." He said.

"You saw something unpleasant?"

"Occasionally I get visions of the future that might happen some time from now. In fact...this vision involved you and some guy with blue hair." Erza's eyes widened in shock.

"You can't mean..."

"He had like this tattoo or something on his face...kind of had a creepy look on his face when he was talking to you." He continued.

'He's talking about Jellal...does that mean that I'm going to see Jellal?' She then stared at him and pointed her sword. "Tell me! These visions you get...how long until they come true!"

"Hmm...like I said...I don't know..." He told her. "Well...doesn't matter..." He pointed his sword at her. "Shall we continue?"

"Fine..." She replied and decided to requip into another armor. "Armadura Armor."

"Pink...you really are girl..."

"What is that supposed to mean!" She yelled, being offended.

"Nothing...you just seem to be more tom boyish than a princess." He told her.

"You really know how to piss me off, don't you?" She said, a vein twitching in annoyance.

"Oooh...scary...so is that one of your strongest armors?" He asked.

"Why don't you tell me!" She shouted and charged at him. He easily dodged her attack her first swing with the sword on her right and then dodged the other as well. He swung his sword at her and she quickly blocked his attack.

"This really isn't getting us anywhere." He told her.

"Well see about that..." She smirked and pushed him back. She quickly went after him. She then went on the rapid offensive as she swung her swords at him one after the other, not letting Kranos get any chance to retaliate. She then managed to get one strong strike on his sword that caused it to slip out of his hand and Erza took advantage and went as quickly as she could to deliver a big blow. He jumped back just in time to avoid her blow.

"Wow...that was clos-" He didn't get to finish as Erza continued her relentless attack. He still was able to dodge everyone of her attacks because of his ability to see seconds into the future. "You know..." He said as he dodged. "You won't get anywhere with this...you'll only tire yourself out."

"Oh yeah!" She smirked and continued to attack him. "I'm pretty sure you would too."

"Hahaha!" He laughed and enjoyed himself, dodging again. When he saw an opening, he clenched his fists and went in for a punch, but Erza purposely created that opening. Unfortunately, anything she tried to surprise Kranos wouldn't work because of his ability to see into the future. He saw what she tried to do and kept his eye on the sword he saw her going to use to attack him. Erza noticed this and started motioning the sword in her right arm toward him just like he knew she was going to do. However, as she saw him begin to move to avoid the sword, she stopped her arm and then swung the sword in her left hand. His eyes widened and couldn't dodge quickly enough as he felt the sword slash against his waist. He groaned in pain as blood gushed out of the new cut. "Damn it..." He cursed and jumped away from her.

He dropped to a knee and placed his arms across the cut. "I noticed your weakness." Erza told him and he looked at her. "You can see into the future, but...when you go to react to the vision...you lose the ability to see into the future." Erza told him. "I first noticed it back when Juvia managed to grab you with her magic...the reason you got caught wasn't because you let her, but because you were focusing on the vision of me probably dealing a strike to you. It also explains why you didn't see Natsu appearing. You were focused on a possible vision of Mira and that guy getting married and then stopped seeing the future because you didn't expect Natsu to appear."

"Hehehe...you Fairy Tail mages really are something..." He laughed and then stood up. "That's correct...I'm amazed you were able to figure it out...then again...I guess it's my fault for leaving all those hints...yeah it's true...once I see a vision...I lose the ability to see into the future because I focus on changing the future." He told her. "However, don't think for a second that just because you now know that...you could beat me."

"We'll see about that." She smirked and got into her fighting stance.

"I guess I got to go with using this..." He reached into his pocket and took out a small crystal. He then ate it.

"W-What...?" Erza raised her eyebrows in confusion.

"Aaaahhh..." He sighed extensively. Erza's eyes widened as crystals began forming on his back. It almost looked like the crystals were being pierced through his chest and out his back, but there was no crystal in his abdomen. His skin was also turning a shade of light blue. "Ah man...I hate turning into this..." He told her. He raised his head and looked at her with his now light blue colored eyes.

"W-What is this?" She asked.

"It's my Crystalline Fusion." He told her. "It's a type of magic that allows me to fuse with a crystal." He told her and clenched his fist as it began changing into the shape of a crystal. "Crystalline Sword." He then charged. Erza's eyes widened at how fast he suddenly became as he stabbed her defense. She groaned as the strength pushed her away. "The only thing that sucks about this for my opponents is that it cancels my ability to see the future and in return gives me more power." He told her. He showed it again as he stabbed her again. Erza was more prepared now and crossed her swords in front of her to block it. However, what she wasn't expecting was the sudden crystal that appeared from his chest. She screamed in pain as the crystal stabbed her in her armor plate, cracking it a bit, but not breaking it. The force of the crystal pushed her back and slammed her to the ground. She rolled to a stop

"Damn..." She cursed, placing a hand to the spot the crystal stabbed her. She picked up her swords and stood up, preparing to go back into attack mode. She was the first to make a move and she swung her swords. Kranos raised his crystal arm up to block her swords. He then transformed his other arm into a crystal and went to stab her armor once more. He connected and the crack in her armor grew, but still didn't break it. "Ah!" She screamed, feeling the force behind the blow. She rose to the air and Kranos jumped and slammed his arm down at her back, slamming her face first into the ground. He then placed his crystal arms together and lowered himself down at her. She turned her head slightly and saw what he tried to do and rolled out of the way. He pierced the crystals into the ground.

Erza quickly got back on her feet and then charged at the stuck Kranos as fast as she could. Suddenly, a crystal came out from his side, trying to stab her, but she was prepared and used her sword to change her direction, make a spin and slash at the crystals on his back. "Aaah!" He yelled in pain as Erza was able to shatter some of the crystals with her sword. She went in for another attack, but at that time, Kranos was able to get the crystals out of the ground and block her attack with his crystal arm. "You bitch!" He roared and spun in the opposite direction to slam his other crystal arm down at her. She was slammed down to the ground as Kranos stood above her, getting ready to pierce straight through her armor.

Erza flipped her swords and then stabbed the ground in front of her before using them to flip herself up and do a back flip. She got back on her feet turned around, grabbed her swords and swung both of them at Kranos. He raised his free crystallized arm and blocked her swords. He pulled his other crystallized arm out of the ground and went to stab her again. He connected and the force made parts of her armor shatter. Erza spat out some saliva as she felt the force of the attack. Kranos didn't stop there as he created several more crystals to appear on his right arm and stabbed her with that. Luckily for Erza, he hit a part of her armor that was still in tact so the smaller crystals didn't pierce her, but it did shatter more of her armor.

"Gah! She rolled on the ground before coming to a skidding stop. She started breathing heavily as she felt exhausted. 'Damn...I can't drag this fight on much longer...' She thought and then looked down at her armor. 'If I keep on fighting him like this...my armor will be completely gone...' She clenched her swords tightly and stood up. 'I have to end this with one final attack...'

"I want to thank you..." Erza made a noise in surprise.

"Why?"

"Because...I haven't had a good fight like this in a long time...I'm really enjoying myself...however...I won't let you win!" He roared before spatting out blood.

"You..." Her eyes widened in shock.

"Damn...I don't have much time left..." He spoke. He then chuckled. "Crap...I knew being in this form for long would be dangerous for me..." He told her. He stood up and then looked at the sky. "Man...I guess this really would be the last time I'll get to see the sky like this..."

"W-What? What are you talking about as if you...wait..." He chuckled.

"Yeah...transforming into this crystal is poisonous...I've been using these crystals every time I met a strong opponent who figured out the secret to my predictions..." He coughed up some more blood. "...this is probably the 20th battle I've been in where I had to use this...you should feel honored...however...I used it far too much and now I'm paying the price...I guess if I'm going to die today...I might as well go out with a win..." He smirked.

"No...I can't..."

"Hey now...don't get so soft on me...I never planned on getting out of this alive...Magnus...the only reason why I followed him was because he promised me that I would find someone that would entertain me...in fact...I've been planning to die before I even met him...seeing the future...is nothing but a curse...a curse that I want to get rid...you think it wouldn't be, but I'm sick and tired of seeing the future...I've been alone for a long time...my family got rid of me because of my curse...I had no friends...seeing you who treasure each other like family and friends made me wonder what that felt like...I guess I won't have the chance to find out..." He spat out blood again. "So...I don't need you to feel sorry for me...we will end this with our final blows...so come at me!"

Erza frowned at him, but complied to his request. Both her swords began to glow a bright green color as Kranos' crystallized arms began glowing as well. They both charged. Erza knew what her attack can do, which was destroy the ground she stood on, so she decrease the amount of magic she was putting into it so that she wouldn't cause a lot of damage. "Aaaaaahhhh!"

"Aaaaahhh!" Kranos yelled as they struck with their attacks, each ending up on the other side from where they were came from. They waited patiently before blood spurt out of Kranos' body signaling Erza's win. Kranos dropped to his knees as his body returned to normal and then fell back to look up at the sky. "Looks like...this is my loss..." He smirked. Erza frowned before requipping back into her Heart Kreuz armor. She turned around and walked over to Kranos. "What's with that look on your face?" He chuckled.

"Sorry..." She apologized.

"I said don't get soft on me now...hehehe..." He choked. There was a moment of silence before he told her something that shocked her. "That man...his name is Jellal Fernandes...right?"

"How do you...?"

"He was the last person I fought using the crystal before joining Magnus..." He told her. "That man...is as crazy as anyone can get..."

"Tell me...do you know where I can find him?"

"I recommend you to not try and find him..."

"Why?"

"That man...something is not right with him...he is too dangerous...I don't know what he is planning, but I know it's probably not good...however...I'm sure you will still try and find him despite what I say...the last time I fought him...was on an island not too far from this tower shaped building on another island...he heard about my future seeing ability and wanted me to join him...but...I refused...something about him made me uneasy...however, he didn't take no for an answer so we fought and I lost miserably...but...I still stick by my decision..."

"I see..."

"I'm sure you and Jellal probably have some sort of relationship together and no matter what I say will change your mind on finding him..." Erza didn't say anything and stared at the ground. "Well...I guess that's all I have to say..."

"Can you...see the future still?"

"Yeah..."

"What do you see?" He smirked.

"A happy ending..." He told her.

"A happy..." She wanted to ask, but then saw that he was no longer breathing and had his eyes closed. She frowned before turning away and walking back over to her nakama. 'Thanks...for a good fight too...'

* * *

><p>"Are you guys okay?" Lucy asked as Elfman rubbed the back of his neck and Gray sat with his legs and arms crossed.<p>

"Never better..." Elfman smirked.

"I'm fine..." Gray replied.

"Really?" Happy asked and gave Gray a pat on the back. He jumped at the pain.

"You damn cat..." Gray glared at Happy.

"Ah! Gray is scary!" Happy flew away to hide behind Lucy who sweat dropped.

"What about Juvia?" Gray looked at her and then turned his head to look at Juvia.

"She's fine..." He sweat dropped as they saw her blushing and muttering 'Gray-sama'.

"Yeah...I guess so..." Lucy chuckled.

"Hey it's Erza!" Levy pointed toward the scarlet knight as she ran toward them.

"Is everyone alright?" She asked as they all nodded their heads. She let out a sigh of relief. "That's good...what about Mira?"

"She's okay...Natsu must have saved her and placed up on the ledge just below us." Elfman told them. "We should go get her before anything bad happens to her again."

"Yeah..." Erza nodded her head in agreement.

Suddenly, streams of magma erupted from the crater and everyone turned their heads in shock at what they saw. The streams of magma looked like monsters just rose out from the volcano. "W-What is that!" Lucy screamed.

"They look like dragons!" Happy shouted.

"Wraaaaah!" They heard screaming as Natsu made his appearance as he was chased by the streams of lava.

"It's Natsu!" They all screamed as they saw him dodging each stream of magma monsters.

"Damn it! Where are you!" Natsu shouted looking for Magnus while dodging his attack. He didn't hear a response and avoided getting eaten by another one of the magma hydras. No matter what he tried, nothing worked. In fact, every time he destroyed one, two more came after him and it just kept on going. He eventually stopped attacking them, but he had to find a way to defeat them. His first thought was kicking the guy's ass, but he couldn't find him. 'Damn it...none of my attacks are working...what the hell can I do!'

"You can keep running all you want, Salamander!" He heard Magnus' voice.

"Where the fuck are you, you bastard!" Natsu yelled.

"Hahahahaha!" His laugh echoed and it just made Natsu even more pissed.

"Damn you..." He growled in anger. He flew around, avoiding the magma hydras, trying to think of a way to defeat them when he noticed his friends. He saw that they were all safe, which made him relieved, but he couldn't get them involved because he knew they would stand a chance if they got caught by the magma. When he saw Gray, he suddenly remembered something the man who trained him said.

_Flashback_

"_Different flames?" Natsu asked, tilting his head to the side._

"_Yeah..." He nodded his head as the three sat around a campfire._

"_Oh...you mean like fire that can smell really bad and..."_

"_No...not that kind..." He sweat dropped._

"_Huh? There are flames that stink?" Happy exclaimed in shock._

"_Uhh...yeah..." Natsu chuckled nervously. He then looked back at the man. "Then what do you mean?"_

"_For example...the Flame of Rebuke..."_

"_The Flame of Rebuke?"_

"_Yes...that is one of the Six Flames of Lux Aeterna." (Eternal Light)_

"_Six Flames...of Lux Aeterna?"_

"_Yes...you currently know three of the six...the first is your normal red flames that you learned from Igneel...the second is the Flame of Rebuke...the third is the Elemental Flame, such as your Lightning Dragon Flame...there are three others that I'm hoping you would one day master...only a few have even heard of them..."_

"_So, how do I master these three other flames?"_

"_That's something only the mage can know."_

"_You just don't want to tell me!"_

"_Hey, you won't learn if you don't do it yourself. However, I will give you a hint...the Flame of Rebuke is a special type of flame that can unlock the other three you are missing..." There was silence. "That's your hint."_

"_Are you kidding me!" Natsu yelled at him._

"_Don't yell! You want to wake up the monsters who live int his forest! I prefer to sleep nice and peacefully for once!" He yelled back._

"_But you're shouting now..." Happy sweat dropped._

"_Come on! Give me something else than that!"_

"_Fine! I'll give you the names of the other three flames, but you have to learn how to unlock them yourself."_

"_At least that's better than the hint you gave me."_

"_Shut up! Anyway...the fourth flame is the Blue Flame."_

"_Blue flame?"_

"_Yes...normally fire is hot...but the Blue Flame is a special flame that is not hot, but very, very cold."_

"_A flame that is not hot, but cold? Is that even possible?"_

"_Yes...it's a special type of flame that instead of burning your opponent...you can freeze them at a very cold temperature...possibly at a temperature that is way below freezing depending on how much magic the mage possesses. It's quite helpful if your fighting someone with a hotter flame than yours."_

"_I see...the Blue Flame..."_

_End of Flashback_

Natsu continued to stare at Gray as he dodged another attack. 'The Flame of Rebuke is the key to unlocking the other three flames...I wonder...' Natsu looked up to see another hydra aiming to eat him, but he spun around and then descended down toward the others. "Gray!"

"Huh?" Gray wondered what Natsu wanted from him. He then noticed behind Natsu were several hydras chasing after him. He sweat dropped. "Don't come at us with those things chasing after you!" He shouted.

"Freeze my hands!" He yelled suddenly.

"Huh? You want me to do what now?" Gray cocked his eyebrow in confusion.

"Freeze my hands like what Lyon tried to do!"

"What? What can that possibly do to help you, you idiot!"

"Just do it!" Natsu yelled.

"Fine! But don't blame if you lose!" Gray yelled back and got into to his position. "Ice Make: Freeze!" He pointed his hands toward Natsu as he stuck his arms out and watched as ice began to form around it. Once his hands were completely frozen with two large ice spheres, he then stopped and used his flames on his feet to fly up, directing the attention of the hydras toward him and they followed.

"What is he planning on doing?" Lucy asked.

"I don't know, but don't blame me if he loses." Gray grumbled.

'Alright...I hope this works!' He hoped and then closed his eyes while continuing to fly upward. 'Flame of Rebuke.' He tried to ignite his flames with the Flame of Rebuke. It didn't work. 'Come on...' He tried again, but it still didn't work. 'Damn it...don't tell me I was wrong!' He gritted his teeth in anger. "Damn it!" He yelled. "Flame of Rebu-" The others watched in horror as one of the hydras swallowed Natsu.

"Natsu!"

Mirajane couldn't believe at what she saw. Natsu was eaten by the monster and no doubtingly thought his body started to melt due to the magma. She fell to her knees and tears started threatening to fall. 'No...Natsu...' She clenched his scarf tightly.

"Hahahaha! Is that all you got, Salamander! I am disappointed in you! Now there is no one that can stop me from marrying Mira!" His laughter echoed.

"Hey look!" Levy shouted. Everyone looked up and their eyes widened as the hydra that swallowed Natsu started freezing.

"What!" Magnus shouted.

"The magma...it's freezing...but how?" Lucy asked. Suddenly the hydra shattered and a figure with blue flames appeared.

"So...this is the blue flame..." Natsu spoke as he looked down at his hands that were ignited by the blue colored flame. "It feels cold..." He smirked and then looked down at the many hydras that were left. "Yosh!" He slammed his fists together as the blue flames grew. "Let's do this!" He then charged downward toward the hydras who charged towards Natsu. "Blue Flame Dragon's Roar!" He puffed his cheeks and blew out the blue flame out of his mouth toward the hydras. Everyone watched in awe as all the hydras that were hit by the blue flame started to freeze up. Natsu didn't stop his attack until all hydras were frozen. 'If I'm correct...then he should be...' He looked at each hydra before one of the shattered, revealing Magnus. 'Bingo!' He smirked and then thrust downward toward him. "You bastard!" Magnus looked up to see Natsu going toward him.

"I don't know what you did...but didn't you forget about what happened the last time you tried punching me!" Magnus chuckled. Natsu didn't care and then punched Magnus in his face, sending him crashing into the wall of the crater. "I-Impossible...so cold..." Magnus muttered in shock as he felt blood fall from the corner of his mouth. He touched the area that Natsu punched him and felt ice on it. He tried to melt it away with his magma...but he just couldn't. "W-What the hell kind of magic is this?"

"Sorry...were you saying something?" He smirked.

"You bastard..." He glared at Natsu. Magnus then jumped and launched streams of Magma at Natsu. He increased his blue flames and then punched the stream of magma as it began freezing. Magnus eye's widened in shock. He quickly let go so that he didn't freeze along with the magma. He started falling down toward the lava and fell in. Natsu saw him and wondered what he was up to. Suddenly, he rose back up and landed on the molten rock, opposite of where Natsu stood. "Just what the hell are you?"

"Me? I'm a member of Fairy Tail! And I'm going to kick your ass for hurting my friends!" He yelled in response.

"Like hell I'll let you win! I've waited too long for me to lose here!" He yelled back. "Magma..." He roared as his entire body transformed into magma. "...Meteor!" He created a large ball of magma above him. Natsu stared at the large ball of magma and ignited his blue flames once again. "Take this!" He roared and threw the large ball of magma at Natsu. Natsu waited until the ball got close to him before he punched the ball of magma with both of his fists. The ball of magma started to freeze up just like the hydras, but he stopped freezing the ball until half of it was frozen. He then ignited his feet to thrust upward. Magnus watched him fly up with the half frozen ball of magma. "What the hell are you doing!"

"Aaaaaaaahhhhhh!" Natsu roared a she continued to fly upward. He looked down to see that he was far enough and then stopped. "You can have it back!" Natsu shouted and then tossed the ball down at him.

"Exactly what would that do you idiot!" He yelled as he rose upward toward the ball with his magma and then placed his hands on the ball, his hands fusing with the ball. "Now I can make it bigger!" He laughed.

"Hidden Blue Fire Form! Crimson Lotus: Phoenix Blade!" Natsu shouted as he engulfed himself in the blue fire and then charged straight through the ball and out on the other side where a shocked Magnus was now expecting him to appear in front of him. Natsu then punched Magnus as they smashed into the molten rock below. The molten rock broke in half as half of it fell into the lava. The ball of magma then collided with the molten rock as well. The others who saw this called out their nakamas name.

"Natsu!"

"Natsu..." Mirajane whispered, clutching at the scarf. She search for Natsu hoping he was okay. 'Please be okay...' Suddenly, she heard a sound coming to her right and looked over to see Natsu climbing up onto the ledge, his pants slightly melted off because of the magma he made contact with. He got up on the ledge and then rolled onto his back, letting out a large sigh.

"Damn...that was close..." He laughed at how close he was to falling into the magma, but luckily was able to escape thanks to his blue flames creating a platform him to land on and then escaping before the ball of magma killed him.

"Natsu..." He heard a voice and lifted his head to see Mira standing just not far from him.

"Ah! Mira! Looks like you're okay! That's good!" He grinned and then sat up. He turned his head and his eyes widened as he saw fall to her knees and start crying. "Huh? What is it? W-Why are you crying?" He panicked as he didn't understand the reason behind her tears.

"I'm happy..." He made a noise in surprise.

"What...?"

"I'm so happy that you kept your promise!" She said while clutching the scarf he gave her. Natsu smiled at her and then walked over to her. He knelt down and his smile turned to a grin.

"Hey! I always keep my promises, you should know that!" He told her and she looked at him with a big smile as a couple of tears fell.

"Natsu..." She whispered. Natsu wasn't sure why, but it suddenly became silent. His eyes widened as Mirajane put her hand on his cheek and then kissed him. He was absolutely stunned by the sudden kiss. He could feel how soft her lips were and if I had a choice to pick on who was the better kisser between her and Cana, he had to say Mirajane's kiss was a lot better. Not that he didn't like Cana's kiss, but there just something with Mirajane's kiss that was better. She finally pulled away and she looked at me with a reddened face and a big smile on her face.

"Mira...I..." She then shook her head.

"It's okay Natsu...I'm sorry for suddenly kissing you like that...I just couldn't help myself..." She told him.

"W-What...?"

"Natsu...I...I..." She was prepared tot ell him that she loved him. The feeling in her chest that she felt over the guilt of loving the same man her younger sister did disappeared as if it never was there. She knew at the moment he saved her from being married and entrusted his scarf to her that she was in love with Natsu. To think that the beautiful Mirajane Strauss, who is an idol in the eyes of those who read Wizard Weekly, would fall in love with a rowdy and destructive person like Natsu. She couldn't help it. She was in love with him and she was prepared tot ell him that. "...I lo-" She stopped when the ledge they knelt on started shaking.

"W-What the...?" Natsu wondered why it was shaking. "...damn...is he still conscious?" He asked. There was a sudden cracking noise heard before the lava in the volcano exploded in the air. Natsu quickly wrapped his arms around Mirajane as he felt some of the magma land on his back. He hissed in pain.

"Natsu!" She cried.

"Don't worry..." He told and cracked a grin for her. "I'm fine...let's head up tot he others and get out of here!" He placed his hands on her back and below her knees before he used his flames to thrust upward toward the others.

"What the hell is going!" Elfman yelled as he saw the volcano explode.

"Could it be that guy's doing?" Gray asked.

"I don't know..." Erza responded. "However...if it is or isn't...we have to get out of here!" They all nodded.

"Wait! What about Natsu and Nee-chan!" Elfman shouted and was ready to run toward the ledge. However he didn't get far as the magma blasted parts of the ground in front of him. "Shit..." He shielded himself and then backed away. "Nee-chan! Natsu!" He called out.

"They'll be fine Elfman! Natsu won't die and I'm pretty sure he wouldn't let anything happen to Mira!" Erza told him. "We got to get out of here!" He clenched his fists, but nodded and he turned around to escape with the others. Erza looked in the direction that Kranos' body lay and watched as the ground crumbled under him and he fell into the volcano. She frowned and closed her eyes before turning around and following the others. Gray picked up Juvia into his arms and Elfman did the same with Gras. Lucy and Levy went over to rescue Feena from the hole she was in, but saw that she was no longer there. They looked around for her, but didn't find her and then decided to follow the others as they ran down the stairs Mirajane took.

The volcano erupted another shot of lava again as Natsu flew up toward where the others were, but when they got there, he saw that they were no longer there. "Huh? Where are they?" Natsu asked as he heard the volcano erupt again.

"Maybe they left..." Mirajane told him as she had her arms wrapped around his neck.

"You're probably right..." He agreed. "Come on, let's go too." They nodded and he started running toward the stairs. They started climbing down the stairs, but didn't get far as the volcano let out another eruption which started making the lava leak down the side of the volcano toward them. "This is...a volcanic eruption!" He realized as the volcano let out another explosion. He started running as fast as he could down the stairs.

Suddenly, a volcanic eruption appeared in front of them, making them halt in their tracks. "SALAMANDER!" Both Natsu and Mira gasped in shock as Magnus appeared out of the magma.

"You again!" Natsu gritted his teeth in anger as the lava from the volcano above them melted the ground behind them, leaving only a small piece of ground around them as it began moving along with the lava, melting slowly in the process.

"I won't let you take my bride! I will kill you!" He shouted and created a large fist of magma toward him.

He tightened his hold on Mirajane and then puffed his cheeks. "Blue Flame Dragon's Roar!" He blew out his blue flame as Magnus' fist froze and most of his magma did as well. He stopped when his entire magma body was frozen except for his head. He glared at Magnus. "You should stop this..." He told him.

"I won't! She was supposed to fall in love with me!" He yelled.

"You can't make Mira force herself to love you, you dumb ass! She should fall in love with the person she truly cares for!" He yelled without knowing the fact that Mirajane fell in love with him. Mirajane looked at Natsu with a warm smile and slight blush on her cheeks.

"I can't accept that!" He yelled.

"I'm sorry..." They both made a noise in surprise as they looked at Mirajane. "I turned you down because I was unsure of what love really was...it was all my fault that you became like this. I'm sorry...I can't ask for your forgiveness...but I just want to tell you that I'm sorry..." She said and then reached one of her hands toward his face as it wasn't covered in magma. His eyes widened at her touch. "I'm so sorry..."

"Mira..." Natsu whispered her name and then smiled at her. However, this only made Magnus even angrier.

"Damn you woman! I can't accept any of this! If I can't marry you...then no one can!" He roared as he transformed his face into magma and he allowed his magma to flow around the ice. He then appeared again, this time his entire body was in magma form. "Both of you die!" He yelled and tried to cover them with his magma. Mirajane closed her eyes and pressed herself closer to Natsu as he held her tightly.

"I won't let you touch Mira!" Natsu roared as removed his hand from under Mirajane's legs and ignited it with a blue flame. "Blue Fire Dragon's Crushing Fang!" He swiped at Magnus, freezing parts of his body as he connected hard with his face, sending him crashing into the area of the volcano that wasn't covered in lava. He crashed into the wall of the volcano with a loud bang. Natsu sighed and placed his hand back under Mirajane's knees and then looked down to see most of the ground they stood on was melted away by the lava. He ignited his feet and thrust up to avoid getting his feet melted by the lava.

Mirajane opened her eyes to see that she was now in the air and then looked at Natsu. He had a look of seriousness on his face and when he felt Mirajane's eyes on him, he looked at her and then smiled. "Looks like it's all over now." He grinned. Mirajane smiled back and nodded her head.

* * *

><p>"Oh no! The lava is heading toward the town!" Lucy cried as she saw the direction the lava was flowing.<p>

"This is bad..." Erza muttered and then turned to the others. "Alright, we have to go save everyone in the village. Elfman! Levy! Us three will head to the village and try to evacuate as many people as we can." Elfman and Levy nodded their heads. "Lucy and Gray try to find a way to slow down the lava or at least find a way to redirect the flow."

"Huh? How are we supposed to that?" Gray asked.

"I'm sure you'll figure something out. Let's go, Elfman!" He nodded his head and the two of them ran off as fast as they could toward the town.

"Great...now what do we do?" Lucy asked the remaining four.

"I don't know...my ice isn't as strong enough as Natsu's was...so I doubt I could freeze it..." He turned his head to see the unconscious Juvia behind them. "If she was awake she could probably use her water magic to do something..."

"Water...that's it!" Lucy pounded her fist into her hand. She then took out a key. "Come on! We have to get to the sea." She told him.

"Huh? Ah wait up!" He called out, picking up Juvia and followed both Happy and Lucy.

"Hey Lucy...are you going to..." Happy asked nervously remembering the Celestial Spirit that almost drowned him. Lucy nodded and the four eventually were able to get to the sea. Lucy then clenched the key and pointed it toward the sea.

"Open the Gate of the Water Bearer! Aquarius!" She summoned her spirit as Aquarius appeared in the water. Gray was amazed by the spirit he never saw before as she looked in their direction.

"Tch!" She responded giving them a bored look.

"We don't have time for this!" Lucy yelled back. "We need your help! Use your powers to try and stop the lava from flowing into the town."

"You have some guts telling me what to do." Aquarius responded angrily, glaring at them.

"W-What's with this spirit?" Gray asked, feeling a little nervous.

"She's the scariest one of them all." Happy answered, hiding behind Gray.

"Can you please just do what I ask for once?" Lucy screamed at her.

"Don't tell me what to do!" She screamed back and started spinning around, bringing the water around her with her.

"Oi..." Gray looked with widened eyes. "Don't tell me..."

"Not this again..." Happy whined as all four of them got caught up in Aquarius' whirlpool. Aquarius screamed as she continued her attack as it headed toward the flowing lava. As soon as the water came in contact with the water, steam came out and the magma started to harden. Aquarius stopped her rampage as the four who got caught in her attack were no on the ground with their eyes swirling round and round. She then looked back to see that she destroyed some of the landscape, creating a slide that the lava that didn't get harden started flowing down and into the sea.

"Tch...I helped her out anyway...whatever..." She then turned back to Lucy. "Listen here little girl! I'm going out with my boyfriend so don't summon me for three days, you got that!" She pointed a finger at her, but Lucy couldn't hear anything she said as she was dizzy from her attack. Aquarius then returned back to the Celestial Spirit world.

"W-What just happened?" Gray asked.

"I'm so dizzy..." Happy cried.

"Sorry about her..." Lucy apologized.

"Gray-sama..."

* * *

><p>When Erza, Levy and Elfman saw the large whirlpool of water stop the lava from flowing any closer to the town, they sighed in relief, but still made sure the town folk evacuate in case another eruption occurred. Once all the civilians were evacuated from the town and towards the port, Lucy and the others met up with the three. "Great work, you four." Erza said, slamming Grays head into her armor.<p>

"Gah!" He cried in pain. She then tried to do the same with Lucy, but she waved her hands in front of her.

"No thanks...I'm good..." Levy giggled next to Lucy.

Elfman continued to stare up at the volcano, trying to find any sign of Natsu and his sister. "Hey Elfman...what are you looking for?"

"Natsu and Nee-chan of course! Who do you think I'm looking for, you idi-" He stopped when he turned and saw Natsu grinning at him with his sister smiling and waving her hand at him. "When did you get here!"

"Just a moment ago." He said.

"Really?"

"Yep!" Mirajane replied with a smile.

"I see..." Elfman let out a big sigh. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Hey fire breath! What the hell did you do? How were you able to freeze everything?" Gray asked.

"Oh that..." He lifted his hand and ignited it in a small blue flame. "I learned a new technique!"

"Ah...isn't that the blue flame he was talking about!" Happy asked.

"Yep! Isn't it neat! Who knew that hint would actually be right!" He laughed.

"I don't know what they're talking...do you?" Gray asked Elfman.

"Not a clue..."

"Wow, Mira! You look so beautiful in that dress!" Lucy and Levy exclaimed as Mirajane blushed at their compliments.

"You're embarrassing me!" She shyly told them.

"No you really do, right Erza?" Lucy asked the scarlet knight. The three looked at her and saw that she was staring at the ground in front of her with a frown on her face. "Erza?" AT her name being called again, she was took away from her thoughts and turned her head to look at the three.

"Huh? I'm sorry...I'm just tired..." She told them.

"Are you sure, you're okay?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah..." She smiled at them. She then turned to look at Mira in her wedding dress and slightly blushed. "Wow...you really do look beautiful, Mira."

"Thank you..." She smiled back. Natsu overheard them and stared at Erza with a frown. He knew what was going to happen next. He clenched his fist at the thought of seeing her cry because of the blue haired man named Jellal. However, he knew that Zeref was involved and when he was involved it never meant anything he good. He knew he was going to have to face Zeref again, the only problem was is that he didn't know how he would fight him. He had a guess that he would fight Jellal, but how would Zeref get involved. He tried to think, but nothing came up.

"Oi Natsu!" Natsu looked over to see Gray calling out his name.

"What?"

"We're heading back! If you want to stay on this island be my guest!" He told him.

"Shut up!" Natsu yelled back and ran up to them. 'Oh well...all I know is...I will kick whoever it is, I'll just kick their ass...'

* * *

><p>When the group returned to Fairy Tail, they were shocked to hear what happened.<p>

"How dare some scumbag marry Mira?"

"We should go kick their asses!"

"We did that already!" Happy told them.

"Mira! You look so beautiful in that wedding dress!" Some of the female guild members surrounded her.

"She looks like an angel from heaven." Some of the male responded, earning glares from some of the other woman.

"Hohohoho! It sure sounds like you had a tough time." Makarov said, greeting the group.

"Ugh..." Natsu groaned as he had his head on one of the tables.

"What's wrong with him?" Makarov asked.

"Our house burned down and we have no place to go now." Happy answered.

"Looks like we're sleeping outside again buddy." He told Happy.

"Yeah..." Happy's ears drooped down.

"Hmm? Really? Then I wonder who's house that is?" Makarov rubbed his chin.

"Huh? What house?" Natsu and Happy asked.

* * *

><p>"Woah!" Natsu and Happy looked at the new building in shock. It was a three floor level house that almost looked liked the female dormitory up on Fairy Hills.<p>

"This is place is amazing..." Gray was speechless as he, the Strauss Siblings, Makarov, Levy, Lucy and Erza were also amazed at the new building.

"Wow..." Was all they could say.

"Isn't this so cool Natsu! It is way better than our old home!" Happy exclaimed in excitement and ran toward the building. Natsu laughed and followed as they got to the front door and noticed a letter pinned on it.

"Hmm?" He took the letter off the door and read it.

"What does it say, Natsu?" Happy asked. Natsu suddenly clutched the piece of paper and suddenly burned it to a crisp, surprising everyone.

"That bastard..." He growled in anger. "So it was his fault my house burned down...I'm gonna kick his ass the next time we meet..." Everyone sweat dropped. He sighed to calm himself down before looking at the door and then slowly opened it. Both Natsu's and Happy's jaw dropped to the floor at the inside of the house which was much more impressive than the outside. There was a large chandelier hanging about the main room and a large staircase to the right. "This is too much..." Natsu muttered in shock.

"Wow! This looks like a mansion!" Levy said in astonishment.

"It's looks just like home..." Lucy whispered sadly, remembering her old home.

"Hmm? You say something, Lucy?" Gray asked.

"I was just saying how incredible this place looks..." She replied. She did mean it, but since she was so used to a place like this, it made her feel kind of sad.

"If you say so...but man...is this really your new place Natsu? Whoever built it must be one heck of a guy." Gray told him.

"Hehehe...you can say that..." Natsu chuckled and looked to the side.

"Hey Natsu!" Happy shouted as he flew up the stairs seconds ago and was now back. "You won't believe this! All of our stuff is back too!"

"Huh? Really!" Natsu grinned in excitement.

"Yep! There is something else too! I get my own room and it's huge!" He said with stars twinkling in his eyes. "This place is so much better than our old home!"

"Yeah..." Natsu agreed, but felt a little sad, feeling a bit uncomfortable at the new change of scenery.

"But you don't look too happy." Happy told him.

"I guess it's because I'm not really used to living in a place like this." He told him. "Well, I'm pretty sure I might get used to it." He grinned and looked at him. Happy smiled back and flew back upstairs to see his room again.

"Well, it seems you have a lot stuff to take care of. I'll be heading back tot he guild. The sun is setting so I would like some more booze before I hit the hay, hohohohoho!" Makarov told them and walked away.

"Oh Master..." Mirajane smiled at him.

"Well...I guess we should head back too." Gray yawned, feeling tired from the day. Suddenly, something broke and they all turned to see Erza standing in front of a broken vase. She looked back at them with an embarrassed face and pointed down at the broken vase.

"It broke itself..." She told them.

"Right..." They all responded. Lucy, Levy, Gray and Erza all said goodbye to Natsu and left. The only two remaining other than Natsu and Happy were Mirajane and Elfman. Elfman walked up to Natsu and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Natsu...I want to say thank you..."

"Hey! It was nothing! I would do it for any of my friends." He proclaimed with a grin.

"You really are the manliest of men...except when you fight me of course!" He smirked.

"Hahaha! Yep!" Natsu laughed and agreed, even though he knew he could easily kick Elfman's ass. He then turned around and walked toward his sister.

"We better head back home." Elfman told her and she nodded. She looked at Natsu and he smiled at her. She smiled back before giving him a wave goodbye. The two of them left, leaving only Natsu and Happy in the new house. Natsu sighed before heading upstairs to see his own room. When he stood in front of the door to his room, he gulped and opened it slowly. He peaked his head out and looked inside. His eyes widened when he saw everything he thought that was burned to the ground in his room. Every single item he kept from all the requests he was ever on was there.

He smiled, glad that his stuff didn't burn down along with his old house that 'that' guy burned down. He then took a better look at his new room and saw that it was big. There was a large bed at the corner of the room with a window just above it. "Hmm...not bad...still doesn't feel like home though..." Natsu said. He really missed his old home, but I guess he could get use to the new place. After all, Happy was happy with it, so why shouldn't he. He let out a yawn and started walking over to the bed. He suddenly collapsed on it and closed his eyes. "Feels...so soft..." He murmured before sleep took over.

* * *

><p>He suddenly woke up when he sensed someone sneaking around his new house. He quickly got up and looked out the window. He saw nothing. He quickly left his room and headed down the stairs. He walked over to the front door and slowly put his hand on the door knob. He clenched his other hand into a fist in case he had to fight someone. He then quickly opened the door. "Who's there!" He shouted and when he heard a gasp his eyes widened to see Mirajane at the door with a shocked expression on her face. "Ah...Mira...what are you doing here?"<p>

"Ah...I'm sorry...you see I forgot to give you back your scarf and I thought I should give it back right away...I was hoping to return it to you without bothering you if you were asleep..." She answered with a frown, holding Natsu's scarf in her hands.

"Ah...don't worry about it..." Natsu told her. "Come on in." He told her.

"Huh? But I weren't you sleeping and..."

"I said it's okay." He grinned at her. "It must be cold outside, so come in." He told her and she nodded. She walked inside and Natsu closed the door. "So...do you want anything to-" He couldn't finish as he was suddenly pushed back into the wall next to the door and felt Mirajane's warm lips on his. His eyes widened in complete shock at the kiss. He felt her hands on his chest as she pressed her body closer to her.

Natsu was clueless on what to do. He was never kissed before and never had the thought of kissing anyone before until Cana surprised him by taking his first kiss. Now, all of a sudden, Mirajane was kissing him. None of this made sense to him. She finally pulled away from the kiss, leaving a stunned and shocked Natsu standing in front of her. Her cheeks were red and she had a smile on her face. "I'm sorry for suddenly kissing you like that, Natsu." She told him.

"Mira...I..." He didn't know what to say.

"Natsu...can I ask you a question?"

"W-What?"

"What did you think of Lisanna?" He made a noise in surprise at her question.

"W-Why are you asking me that?"

"Please..." She cried.

"Umm...well...Lisanna was really a great friend..." He answered.

"Did you...have any strong feelings for her?" She asked.

"W-What do you mean?" He asked a bit confused by her question.

"Did you...love Lisanna?" Natsu's eyes widened in shock. Love Lisanna?

"I..." He did not how to respond to her question. Love? Did he love Lisanna? Heck, he didn't even think about love before and here he was being asked if he loved one of his guild mates. He really was just stunned. "I...I don't know..." It was really all he could say. His answer caused Mirajane to frown and lower her head. He saw this and it made his heart ache. "Mira...I..." She shook her head before raising her head and smiled at him. He could tell it was a smile that she forced upon her lips.

"It's okay Natsu...I understand...I guess since I'm here I should tell you this..." She placed a hand to her chest. "Natsu...I...I love you..." The entire house became silent. He was too stunned to find his voice or even move. Nothing could have prepared him falling getting confessed to by one of his guild mates. In fact, he never once thought of the possibility of being involved in anything that had to deal with love unless it involved loving everyone in the guild as family. However, now one of the guild mates he considered as a member of his family was confessing to him. He just didn't know what to say or do. "I'm sorry for suddenly just confessing to you like this..." She told him and grabbed his hand to give him back his scarf. "I don't expect an answer from you...I mean you're probably never thought about love or anything like that and hearing me confess probably is leaving you frozen in place..." She laughed, but Natsu could tell that her laughter shown hints of her pain. "Well...I should head back..." She said and then went behind him to grab the door. She pulled back to open it, but stopped when she saw Natsu grab her arm.

"Natsu...what are you doing?" She asked looking at him.

"I don't know...I don't know..." He whispered before he pulled her towards him and then kissed her. This time Mirajane was the one who was surprised by the kiss. However, she didn't stay surprise for long as she kissed him back. The kiss was kind of sloppy, which Mirajane assumed it was because Natsu never had any experience kissing someone. She was disappointed that she couldn't be the one who took his first kiss, but she was so happy that she chose Natsu to be the one who took her first kiss.

The kiss the two shared was anything but their lips just touching each other. Both of them weren't experienced in kissing, but she didn't care as she enjoyed kissing the person she fell in love with. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself closer to him, feeling his body heat against hers and it just gave her chills. She felt him move his own arms down to her waist and place them there. They eventually broke the kiss and when they did, they stared into each others eyes and Natsu could see that she indeed had the eyes of someone who was in love with him. He didn't know how he knew that, but just the way she looked at him in a way he never saw anyone look at him before told him so.

"Natsu..." She whispered his name before kissing him again. Natsu closed his eyes and kissed back. Suddenly, he felt his body start to move on it's own. He picked her up, her legs wrapping around his waist, and started making his way upstairs. The two of them forgot his scarf completely as it fell to the floor.

When they got to his room, he opened the door and then closed it behind him. Mirajane's hands were on his cheeks as they continued their kiss. He continued walking until her got to his new bed and just gently placed her on it, the two of them kissing throughout. They continued to kiss for a few more seconds before Natsu pulling away. He lifted his head and looked down to see something he never thought existed. He saw an angel. Her name was Mirajane and she really did look like an angel instead of her previous known nickname as the demon of Fairy Tail. At that moment, she wasn't a demon, but just exactly the opposite. He never seen her or anyone else like this. It was just breathtaking. Her hair was sprawled all over his new bed as she looked up at him with red cheeks.

"Mira..."

"Natsu..." They whispered each others name.

"You look...so beautiful..." He couldn't believe the words that came out his mouth. It was like he was a completely different person. He never thought he would just say those words to her. He saw her cheeks get even more red and her eyes started to form tears.

"Natsu..." She couldn't contain herself anymore and wrapped her arms around his neck again and kissed him. Natsu was a bit surprise at the sudden kiss, but closed his eyes and kissed back. He suddenly felt her tongue against his bottom lip and try to push into his mouth. He wasn't sure what she wanted, but he opened his mouth and when her tongue entered his mouth, he suddenly felt a jolt throughout his body. He could feel her tongue exploring his mouth and it only made the kiss that much better. He tried touching her tongue with his own and it increased the feeling. He wasn't sure if what they were doing was still considered kissing, but he enjoyed the feeling.

Mirajane was in the same situation as Natsu. When he let her put her tongue into his mouth, she was overjoyed. As she explored his mouth, she felt her entire tingle with excitement. She wasn't experienced in kissing, but she knew what they were doing was french kissing each other and she loved it, especially when she danced with Natsu's tongue with her own. However, both of them had to breathe and they pulled away.

"Natsu..." Mirajane whispered his name. He surprised her when he suddenly lowered himself and started kissing her neck. She let out a gasp, but it soon followed with a moan. She was not expecting Natsu to do this. "Natsu..." She moaned as he trailed kisses down her neck and back up again. He then lifted his head up and looked at her.

"Mira...I...I don't know what's wrong with me..." He suddenly said, surprising the beauty under him.

"What are you talking about...Natsu?"

"I...I don't know what's wrong...my body...it's moving on it's own...I don't what I'm doing...It's like my body isn't listening to me..." He told her. She smiled at him and placed a hand on his cheek.

"It's okay...Natsu...just let your body do what it wants...don't fight it...I want to do it too..." She told him. He didn't know what she meant by that, but he just did as she told him to and let his body do the work. He lowered himself down and kissed her once more. His hands then started move and the two felt a jolt of excitement enter their body at what they were about to do.

**[The following part is the lemon scene which can be found on AFF or YourFanfiction! Please check my profile for the links!]**

* * *

><p>"What do you know...he finally did it..." The man chuckled as he drank out of the bottle he always carried around.<p>

"Pervert..." Alastor said behind him.

"Someone who was here the entire time they did shouldn't say anything." The man replied as Alastor blushed slightly.

"Shut up or I'll tell Eve."

"Tell her what? That you and I were watching Natsu have sex?" Alastor thought about it before he cringed.

"You know what...never mind..." The man chuckled. "By the way, you never told me this...why does he have to capture the hearts of his maidens or whatever you call it?"

"Oh that...sorry, but it's a secret..." He replied.

"You really piss me off with all this secrecy."

"You are not the only one who has told me that."

"I'm sure I'm not." There was silence between them. "Did you see his fight against that magma guy?"

"Yep...I'm impressed that he was able to unlock the Blue Flames. I guess he listens after all."

"He's strong...makes me want to fight him again..."

"I advise you to not do so..."

"Are you saying I'll lose again?"

"No...okay yes...but his next opponent is not going to be easy."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean...that Natsu might have no choice but to use the Dragon Metamorphosis with his next opponent..."

"Oh...and just who is this opponent?"

"Someone...who will make Natsu realize the difference between himself and 'his powers'..."

* * *

><p>"Hahaha! That was a splendid fight, Natsu Dragneel." A man in a hooded cloak laughed as he saw the recorded fight between Natsu and Magnus. Some of his light blue hair peaking out of his hoodie. "I can't wait to fight you myself, Natsu." He smirked in excitement as he chuckled.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>To Be Continued...<strong>

**Author's Notes:** Oh man! Such a long chapter! Over 20,000 words! This is by far the longest thing I have ever written so I'm sure you're happy about it. Either that or you're happy to finally have a lemon scene in this small story of mine! Well, if you're reading this on you probably didn't see the lemon scene. So, Ill say it again and this time in capital bold letters:

**THE LEMON SCENE CAN BE FOUND ON AFF (ADULTFANFICTION) OR ! PLEASE CHECK OUT MY PROFILE FOR THE LINKS!**

There you have it. I hope you enjoyed the fight scenes since some of you were disappointed with the ones in the previous chapters. I also hope you like my idea of the Six Flames of Lux Aeterna. I will understand if you don't, but I already put it in the story so there is not much I can do.

If you are wondering why I chose Natsu to do it with Mira first, I just want to point out that it has nothing to do with the fact that I support that pairing. Yes, I know it's a weird pairing to support, but I like it so that's that. I know me saying that won't make you believe me, but I have a reason. The reason I chose Mirajane first is because out of most of the Fairy Tail characters, Mirajane does not have a particular arc dedicated to her. I mean, Erza has the next arc I'm going into, Lisanna has Edolas, Cana has the whole Tenrou Island thing, but I don't plan on going that far without having a lemon scene with her and Ultear also has the same arc, which then includes the time skip part. It is unknown whether Mirajane will have her own arc and its because of that I decided to go with her first.

Damn...this a long author's notes.

Lastly, I need your help. This is for readers who have facebooks! I created a page that I need help with likes and I hope you guys can help. Yes, I'm advertising! **The link is the last one on my profile!** Yes I know that this is a page for the Straw Hats and this fanfic is a Fairy Tail one, but hey, I'm desperate for likes! If you're asking why, then how about this. I plan to inform everyone about the status of my fics on that page. So, in case you ever wonder when my fics will be updated go to that page! You can message the page and I'll respond as quickly as I can with an update on my fics! So, please go and like it, but only if you have a facebook!

One more thing: **PLEAS EMAKE SURE YOU ARE AT LEAST 18 YEARS OLD WHEN READING THE LEMON SCENES! THE REASON I'M SAYING THIS IS BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO GET YELLED AT OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT IN CASE SOMEONE'S PARENTS FIND OUT YOU ARE READING ADULT CONTENT! SO PLEASE!**

Well that's it for my ranting author's notes! I don't plan on editing this chapter since its so long, so I'm not and I apologize for any mistakes. I hope you enjoyed chapter 20! Ja Ne!


	21. Natsu and the Magic Council

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related which includes the characters of Fairy Tail.

**Rated M! You have been warned!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 21: Natsu and The Magic Council<strong>

The sun shined through the window of Natsu's new room down toward the couple who slept quietly on the bed. During the night, the couple changed position so that he had his arm around her waist and pressed her back against his chest. Mirajane slept with a smile on her face as the blanket covered up their naked forms. The sunlight soon hit her in the face, making her squint at the abrupt light hitting her eyes. She slowly began to open them and blinked several times to clear her hazy vision. Once her vision became cleared, she furrowed her eyebrows slightly as she didn't recognize the room she was in. She felt something wrapped around her waist and turned her head slightly to see the familiar pink colored hair. She then remembered everything that happened the night before and smiled. She giggled slightly and closed her eyes again to take in the warm sensation of being so close to Natsu.

She wanted to stay so close to him for a little while longer, but she heard him groan, signaling her that he was going to wake up. Her smile widened as she placed her hand on his arm and lifted it slightly so that she could turn her body around to face him. She watched as he started to open his eyes. When his eyes were halfway opened, her smile grew. "Good morning." She greeted him.

"Mira..." At first he was going to start panicking, but held himself back when he remembered what occurred during the night. He settled down and groaned a bit. "Morning...what time is it?" He asked.

"Don't know." She replied, her smile still on her face. Natsu looked at her and couldn't help but grin at her. He then noticed where his hand was and removed it from her waist.

"Ah...sorry..." He apologized. She giggled.

"Why are you apologizing for?" She grabbed his arm and placed it back around her waist.

"Right..." He responded and smiled. The two stayed like this in each others comfort. However, they couldn't stay like that forever. "We should...probably get up before Happy or someone else finds us like this..."

"Yeah...but let's just stay like this for a little while longer..." She said, wrapping her arms around him and pressing closer to his toned chest. He hugged her tightly against him as the blanket covered their naked forms.

"Mira...Happy would be waking up soon..." He told her.

"Hmmm..." She moaned, smile still placed on her face. He smiled down at her as he took in her scent. He wanted to stay like this as well, but he knew it would become problematic if they were caught by Happy. After all, that big mouth best friend if his would rush over to the guild and tell everyone, which would probably cause Mirajane to be harassed by the others. He didn't want that so he smirked at the sudden idea he had.

"Hey Mira..." He heard her moan again at the sound of his voice. His smirk widened. Mirajane's eyes suddenly widened as she went into a full blown laugh.

"S-Stop it...N-Natsu..." She said in between laughs as he devilishly smirked at her. He didn't say anything and continued to tickle her. "Stop it...Natsu..."

"Nope..." He replied as she continued to laugh.

"A-Alright...I'm getting u-up..." Natsu chuckled and stopped his tickle attack as she sat up, covering herself with the blanket. She looked at him and pouted.

"That was mean..."

"Hahaha! Sorry...but that was the only thing I could think of..." He told her, sitting up as well. She continued to pout at him, but soon smiled. She turned around and grabbed her clothing, before standing up off the bed. She removed the blanket from her body and started to put on her clothing. Natsu turned his head away as he blushed slightly. When she became fully dressed, he turned his head back around. "Hey Mira..."

"Hmm? What is it, Natsu?" She turned around.

"Should we...keep this a secret from everybody?" He asked with a serious expression.

"Hmm..." Mirajane hummed as she thought about it. She knew very well what would happen if they told the others. It could cause a lot of problems. "I think we should keep it a secret from everyone for a while." She finally told him after much deliberation. "It probably would for the best."

"I see...alright then!" He grinned. She smiled back at him before crawling on to the bed and planting her lips on his.

"I'll see you back at the guild." She told him and he nodded his head. She got off the bed and exited the room, making sure to be quiet in case Happy was still sleeping. She stopped when she saw something that intrigued her. She then smiled as an idea popped in her head. She started walking again and headed downstairs to stop right in front of Natsu's scarf. She giggled slightly at the reason why she came to Natsu's house in the first place. She picked it up and placed it on a table next to the door. She then left and headed home, but first making a few stops to pick up some things.

Natsu sighed as he got up from the bed and put on his clothes. He never thought he would do something like that with on of his friends from Fairy Tail. He wondered what the others might think if they ever found out about this. He knew for sure Erza might kill him, at least he hoped she didn't. He stretched his arms out and walked out of his room. He made his way towards Happy's room and opened the door. He sweat dropped as the entire room had a fish theme to it. The small bed sheets he had wrapped around him had small fishes on it. The walls were all decorated as if it looked like they were underwater with a bunch of fish swimming around.

"He went a little overboard..." Natsu sighed and walked over to Happy. He saw how Happy was chewing on his blanket. He chuckled at the slight. "Hey Happy! Wake up!" He told his best friend.

"Gwive me...5 mwore minutes..." Happy moaned turning on his side.

"Alright then...I guess we won't be stopping by the fish market to get some fish..."

"I'm up!" Happy exclaimed, tossing his blanket away. "So! Let's go!" Natsu laughed as Happy ran out of his room with Natsu following right behind him. They made it downstairs and that's when he saw his scarf on the table. He grinned and went over to wrap it back around his neck. "Come on, Natsu! Fish! Fish! Fish!" Happy chanted from outside.

"Alright I'm coming!" He yelled and closed the door behind him.

* * *

><p>When Elfman woke up, he noticed that Mirajane was nowhere to be found. He naturally started to panic. After everything that happened yesterday he had every right to panic and worry about his older sister. He searched his entire house and he could not find her. He was about to storm right out of the door, but when he opened it, he saw his sister right in front of the house with a couple of bags in her hands. "N-Nee-chan..."<p>

"Elfman...what's wrong?" She asked slightly surprised.

"W-Where did you go?" He asked, trying to settle his racing heart.

"I went to buy some stuff for breakfast." She lied, but she put on a big smile which made it too hard for Elfman to know if she was telling the truth or not. He decided to trust her and nodded his head before sighing.

"Sorry...I was was just worried after everything that just happened." He told her, rubbing the back of his neck. Mirajane smile softened in understanding.

"I'm sorry...I guess I should have told you I was going out shopping." She walked inside, Elfman stepping to the side to let her in. He watched as she placed the bags in the kitchen. "Hey Elfman..."

"Hmm? What is it, Nee-chan?"

"How long would it take for my room to get repaired?"

"Hmm...I don't know...probably for a couple of months, I mean we would be stuck with fixing the guild first before we can start fixing our home." He replied walking up to her.

"I see..." She felt herself smile. "Then it's settled."

"Huh? What is?" She turned around and smiled at him.

"Oh nothing."

* * *

><p>"I gwot fwish! I got fwish!" Happy cheered as he happily walked next to Natsu with a fish in his mouth. Natsu chuckled at his best friend as he had his hands placed behind his head. After stopping by to buy fish for Happy, the two were now walking toward the guild to help out the others in the rebuilding process. When they arrived at the guild, they met the rest of Team Natsu who were hanging out on one of the tables.<p>

"Yo!" Natsu greeted them.

"Hm? Oh...it's just you..." Gray sighed and looked away.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" He asked raising an eyebrow.

"It means I don't want to see your face."

"Don't make me punch the crap out of you."

"Already fighting..." Lucy sweat dropped and chuckled nervously. "So, how do you like your new home?"

"I didn't really get a good look around...I immediately went to sleep when I found my room." He replied.

"My room is so awesome! Everyone is fish!" Happy told her.

"R-Really now..." Lucy giggled. Happy nodded before chowing down on his fish.

"Who was it that built that place anyway?" Gray asked.

"I thought you didn't want to see me." Natsu narrowed his eyes at him.

"I don't...I was just thinking out loud." Gray responded not looking in his way.

"Are you children?" Lucy muttered.

"I know he is but what am I?" Natsu asked.

"That's it! Bring it on flame brain!" Gray stomped his foot on the table as he was stripped of his clothing.

"Pervert! I'll kick your ass!" Natsu pointed his finger and then two glared at each other. Lucy only sighed.

"Here we go again." She muttered.

"Natsu..." The four of them turned around to see Makarov looking at them with a serious expression on his face.

"Hmm? What is it, Old Man?" Natsu asked.

"Come with me...there is something we need to talk about." He told him and then turned around. He started walking and Natsu stood up to follow him. Happy was about to follow, but then Makarov caught his eyes which told the Exceed to not follow them. He drooped his ears and nodded his head slowly.

"I wonder what the Master wants with Natsu?" Lucy asked.

"Don't know...but...whenever he gets that serious...it must be something important." Gray told her.

"I see..." Lucy frowned.

Makarov finally stopped and turned around to face Natsu. He looked up at him with narrowed eyes. "W-What is it, Old Man?" Natsu asked, slightly nervous. 'What could he want?'

"Natsu..." Makarov closed his eyes and sighed. "...the Magic Council has requested you."

"Huh? The Magic Council? Why?" Natsu asked. The Magic Council never once asked to see him. Why would they suddenly request his presence?

"It's not all that surprising..." Makarov told him. "I mean you did defeat one of the Ten Wizard Saints..."

"So?"

"I'm not too sure what this meeting is about...but I can assure you, you are not in any trouble. They just want to talk." Makarov told him.

"When?"

"At one o'clock today."

"Huh? That soon!" Makarov nodded his head. "Fine...I'll go. By the way...where am I going again?"

"The Fiore Branch...I suggest you leave now so that you could make it on time." He suggested. Natsu nodded his head.

"Is that all?"

"They also want you to go alone." Natsu made a slight noise in surprise. He sighed and nodded his head.

"Alright then. I'll see you later Old Man!" Natsu turned around and headed back toward the other guild mates.

Makarov sighed. "You know...it's not polite to eavesdrop...Erza." Erza jumped in surprise at her name being called and slowly came out of her hiding spot behind some of the logs. She was amazed at how good the Master was at sensing her presence, even if she did her best to hide it from him.

"Master...why does the Magic Council want to see Natsu?" She asked.

"I do not know...all the letter said was that they requested Natsu to meet with them today." Makarov answered her.

"May I ask which member of the council sent the letter?"

"Seigrain." Erza gasped and her eyes widened in shock.

"W-What? W-Why...?" Erza muttered in shock.

"I do not know..." Erza gritted her teeth in anger as she was going to chase after Natsu. However, Makarov placed his staff in front of her, stopping her movements.

"M-Master?"

"Do not follow him." He told her.

"But Master...!"

"I'm sorry Erza...but the letter requested just him. It also said that the entire guild would be interviewed about the incident, so we all have to stay."

"Yeah but when they arrested me, he..."

"That time was different..."

"How?"

"When you were arrested, they did it only to show everyone that they were still in control. However, this time...it's different. They didn't just send me any normal letter. It was letter that was sealed with a very powerful magic spell that only a Master of a Guild knows. Those letters mean that the meeting is supposed to be confidential. I'm sorry Erza...but you can not interfere this time." He closed his eyes.

Erza clenched her fists tightly. 'Damn it...Seigrain...'

* * *

><p>Natsu returned to the others who immediately jumped him with questions. "So, what did the Master want?" Gray asked.<p>

"Are you in trouble?" Lucy asked, frowning.

"Of course not...I was just requested by the Magic Council later today. I don't know what they want, but the Old Man was very serious so it must be important." Natsu sighed.

"Eeeehhh?" Lucy exclaimed. "That's serious, Natsu!"

"Huh? Why?"

"What if you get arrested for what happened and I'm not talking about the same thing that happened with Erza!" She stood up.

"Take it easy Lucy...I doubt I'm in that kind of trouble. I mean if I was, wouldn't they come here to arrest me." He told her.

"But...what if you really are in trouble?" She frowned and lowered her head. "I don't..." She then felt his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at his grinning face.

"Hey! Remember what I told you! I would never blame you if something like that happened and you shouldn't blame yourself either. Everything is going to be okay." Lucy smiled and gave him a nod of her head that told him she understood. "Great! Now then, I better head out!" He turned around to head back to his newly made house.

"Wait for me, Natsu!" Happy called after him.

"Sorry Happy! The Old Man told me I'm only allowed to go to this meeting." Natsu yelled over his shoulder. "I'll see you when I get back!" Happy stopped and frowned as he watched Natsu run back home.

"I wonder if that idiot is really in trouble..." Gray spoke.

"Don't say that!" Lucy yelled at him.

"Yeah!" Happy did so as well.

"R-Right...sorry..." Gray gave them a nervous smile, trying to calm them down.

* * *

><p>When Natsu arrived at his newly made mansion like home, he noticed that the door was open. 'Hmm...is this a break in...hehe...dumb asses...they don't know who they are dealing with...' He smirked and punched a fist into his open hand. He slowly tiptoed toward the door and pushed it forward softly and took a peak inside. At first he saw nothing, but he then saw a shadow in one of the rooms on the right. He smirked and clenched his fists as he made his way toward the room. When he got there, he saw the shadow and then charged into the room. "You picked the wrong place to rob you..."<p>

"Hi, Natsu!"

"Mira!?" Natsu screamed in shock as he slipped and slammed his head into one of the kitchen's cabinets. "Ite!"

"Eh? Are you alright, Natsu?" She asked running toward him and kneeling down.

"My head..." He groaned and rubbed his head. He then looked over at Mirajane. "W-What are you doing here, Mira?"

She giggled. "I was thinking and I made a decision."

"About what?"

"Since my room was destroyed, I decided to live here with you." There was a moment of silence before Natsu erupted with a loud,

"EEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHH!?" Mirajane, with a wide smile still on her face, giggled at his reaction. Natsu, on the other hand, was shocked. "W-What do you mean you decided to live here with me?"

"What...you don't want me to live with you?" She frowned and pouted. He blushed at the face she made as if he was looking straight into the eyes of a puppy.

"Ah...well...it's not that I don't mind...but what about Elfman..." He asked.

"Oh...I wouldn't worry too much about him, he thinks I'm staying at Fairy Hills." She told him.

"Huh? But what if he finds out you don't live there?"

"Then we'll explain everything to him then. Like the saying goes, we'll cross the bridge when we get there." She replied without showing any worry on her face.

"R-Right..." Natsu sighed. "Still..." She giggled and then leaned forward to place a soft and quick kiss on his lips.

"It's going to be alright. I will do my best to make sure no one finds and if they do, I will explain everything and hopefully you won't get hurt too badly." She giggled as Natsu sweat dropped.

"So in the end...I'll still get hurt by the others." He sighed. "But you're forgetting someone. Happy isn't the type to keep a secret for long."

"I'm sure I'll find a way to make sure he keeps it a secret." She replied.

"I guess so..." He sighed and stood up.

"Is there something wrong?" She asked, concerned.

"It's nothing...I just have to go to a meeting with the magic council."

"What?" Mirajane slightly screamed as she stood up as well. "Why?"

"I don't know...all Master told me is that they sent him a letter requesting a meeting with me and to come alone. To be honest, I'm not worried about the meeting...I'm just worried about riding in a train again..." Just the thought of riding in a train made him nauseous. Mirajane was still worried at the meeting, but smiled softly knowing Natsu would be fine. She heard him groan and walked behind him. She wrapped her arms around him and leaned her head against his back. "Mira?"

She giggled. "I know you'll be fine."

"Yeah..." The two stayed like so for a while before Natsu decided that it was time for him to get ready. He placed his hand on the ones that were wrapped around him. "I should get going." He told her and he felt her move her head away from his back.

"Want me to make you a snack?" She asked.

"That would be great." He grinned and she smiled back.

"Okay then!" She turned around and walked toward the refrigerator. Natsu sighed and walked out of the kitchen and headed upstairs. He entered his room and starting digging through his stuff.

Once he put on a clean pair of clothing, walked out of his room. He headed down the stairs and saw Mirajane at the bottom step holding what looked like a bento.

"Here you go, I hope you like it." She told him with a big smile.

"Thanks, I'm pretty sure I will." He grinned and took the bento. Mirajane leaned forward and gave Natsu a small kiss on the lips.

"Good luck." She told him and he nodded before leaving.

* * *

><p>"Ummm...sir...are you okay?" A fellow passenger asked as Natsu stuck his head out of the window on the train.<p>

"Not...rea-ugh..." He groaned placing his hands over his mouth to prevent any puke to come out. The bento Mirajane made him was behind him on the seat, still wrapped around in the cloth. He opened his eyes slightly to see how much longer it was until he would arrive at the Fiore Branch. He was able to see the building in sight and would let out a sigh of relief, but if he did, then he would have emptied his stomach. When the train finally stopped, Natsu quickly ran out of the train a dropped down to his knees and celebrated that he was finally on land. "Finally!" He was just about to kiss the ground, but was interrupted by a messenger, who had his eyes narrowed at Natsu. "Yo!"

"Natsu Dragneel of Fairy Tail...follow me." The messenger told him. Natsu stood up and did so, the bento in his hand.

The two entered the Fiore Branch building and walked down the same hallway he remembered running through when he went to pose as Erza. "So...what's this meeting about?" He asked the messenger.

"You will know soon enough." The messenger replied. They arrived at the large door and they just stood there. Natsu wasn't sure why he didn't just open the door, but he heard the gong of a bell ring once, he figured he must have waited until it was one o'clock exactly before entering the large room. When Natsu entered, he immediately saw all the members of the Magic Council all looking at him. The noticed before that the damage he had done before was fixed, so it was a little unrecognizable at first because it was the first time he saw the large room's original look. "Go over to the center." The messenger told him and he did so.

When Natsu stood in the center, a bright light shined down on him. He winced at the sudden light, but his eyes readjusted so that he saw the Magic Council all looking at him. He noticed two of them had small smirks on their faces and eyed both Ultear and Siegrain. "Natsu Dragneel!" The Magic Councilmen in the middle spoke as he raised himself out of his seat. "Do you know why you are here?"

"No."

"You are here today regarding the events that occurred with the illegal Guild War your guild, Fairy Tail, had with Phantom Lord."

"Okay...what did I do?" He asked raising an eyebrow.

"You, alone defeated Jose Porla, one of the Ten Wizard Saints and..."

"Nice job picking that whack job." Natsu interrupted, earning a small chuckle from both Ultear and Siegrain.

"Silence!" He roared. "You do realize what you have done. Because of you, we have to find someone new to replace him as a Wizard Saint."

"I don't see the problem, just pick someone." Natsu replied.

"It is not that easy, you fool. Finding someone who is qualified to be named as one of the Ten Wizard Saints is not easy."

"I still don't see why I had to come all this way?"

"That is because...after a long deliberation process...we have chosen you to take his place." There was a long silence as Natsu thought he was hearing things.

"Come again...?" He asked in shock.

"We have decided to give you the title as one of the Ten Wizard Saints. Do you accept?" Natsu clenched his fists, gripping the cloth around the bento Mirajane made tightly.

'Are you fucking kidding me? A Wizard Saint? The same thing as the Old Man is.' He thought about the idea and realized all the responsibilities he would have. He loosened his grip and lowered his head to shield his eyes behind his hair. He then smirked. He lifted his head to look up at the Magic Council.

"Well...what is your answer?"

"Fuck no!" Loud collective gasps were heard throughout the room as some of the members of the council had their mouths dropped to the ground. Ultear and Siegrain were the only ones who found his answer amusing.

"W-What?" The Chairman of the Magic Council yelled.

"Like I said...no thanks."

"Do you realize what you are declining?"

"Yeah and that's exactly why."

"Explain yourself!"

"Well, if I did become a Wizard Saint then I have to follow the rules, report to you guys and do all that kind of stuff that is just plain boring. I don't want to have a title that would make me do boring stuff like that. If there is anything else you have to say to me then hurry up." He told them as the Magic Council couldn't believe what they were hearing.

"You insolent fool...I hope you don't regret your decision." The Chairman growled in anger.

"Yeah...I won't. Now then, if that's all, I'm going to go now." He told them and turned around, ready to leave.

"Hold on a minute...Natsu Dragneel." Natsu made a noise in surprise at the sound of the familiar voice and turned his head to look at Siegrain, who had that disturbing smirk on his face.

"What?"

"Chairman...if I may...may I speak to him in private?" Siegrain asked.

"Exactly what for, Siegrain?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at the blue haired man.

"There is something I need to talk to him about." He answered simply. The Chairman continued to stare at the Siegrain before he sighed.

"Very well." His Thought Projection disappeared. The others soon followed as the only ones left were Siegrain and Ultear.

"Now then, Natsu...please...follow me..." He told him and they both headed down from their seats. Natsu watched them carefully and followed once they reached the floor he was on. The three walked into a room that had several large bookcases, a small table surrounded by two couches and an armchair and two large windows. When Ultear closed the door behind Natsu, Siegrain turned around and smirked at Natsu. "We finally meet, Natsu Dragneel."

"What do you want?" He lightly growled, hoping Siegrain didn't notice.

"That's a very foul mouth you have there, Natsu. However, I'm not one to care about such things. Let's just cut to the chase, there is something I want to ask you." Seigrain began as Natsu stared at him. "What's your relationship with Zeref?" Natsu kept a straight face as silence coursed throughout the room.

"I don't know who Zeref is." He responded.

Seigrain chuckled, keeping his smirk plastered on his face. "Come on now Natsu, there is no need to lie. We have been watching you very closely. We know you know something about Zeref and it is important that we, as members of the Magic Council, know everything that concerns Zeref. So please, don't hide any information on him or otherwise we'll have no choice but to arrest you for hiding information about Zeref." He chuckled as he told him.

'This guy...doing this because you're members of the magic council my ass!' Natsu thought. "I told you I don't know who this Zeref person is. I might have heard about him from Gray or something, but other than that I don't know who the fuck he is." Natsu told him.

"I see...such a shame...I really thought you would cooperate with us...what should we do, Ultear?" Seigrain asked the woman behind Natsu. She giggled behind her sleeve as she walked forward and pressed herself against Natsu's back and put her arm on his shoulder.

"Maybe we should see if he will tell us if something were to happen to one of his nakama back in Fairy Tail?" Ultear whispered next to his ear. Natsu made a sound as he turned his head slightly and growled.

"What?"

"I see...I guess that would make him tell us about Zeref..." Seigrain agreed with Ultear's idea, widening his smirk.

"Leave my friends alone...I told you I don't know anything about Zeref!" He yelled in anger.

"Come on Natsu. You know you can't do anything to us, especially with guards and other important people here that could easily get you sent to prison. So, I wouldn't do anything rash now." Ultear told him.

"You..." He growled in anger, clenching his fists tightly.

"As you can see, Natsu...we have the leverage here. I think it's about time you tell us everything you know about Zeref...or else..." Seigrain told him as both he and Ultear kept their smirks.

'Damn...I just don't get it...I made sure to keep everything a secret...did my actions really tell them that I knew Zeref...that can't be...then why...' He glared at Seigrain before his eyes widened in shock. 'W-What the hell?' He couldn't believe his eyes at who he was seeing behind Seigrain.

"Oh...is something the matter...Natsu?" Seigrain spoke, his smirk widening.

'Why...why are you there...Zeref?'

'Hello...Natsu...' He heard Zeref speak as a faint image of himself appeared behind Seigrain.

'What the hell are you doing there?'

'Natsu...you have gotten strong since the last time we spoke...however, if you think for one second that you have become stronger than me you are mistaken...you are still too weak, Natsu...'

'You bastard...how about you fight me and we'll see...'

'Don't be ridiculous...our time to fight is not any time soon...as I told you...you are still not strong enough to face me...to prove it to you...I will be using this man as my puppet...as my puppet, he knows everything that I know about you...'

'So...that explains why he's asking me about you...'

'Yes...I implanted all the information I have gathered about you so far in his mind...he knows that you know about me...however, I did not give him any information about me sending you back in time...I wouldn't do that after everything you had been through so far...'

'Gee...thanks...'

'Natsu...have you not noticed yet...'

'Noticed what?' Natsu asked.

'Take a look at this man...' He looked at Seigrain. Natsu followed and didn't see anything wrong with him at first. However, as time passed by, he finally noticed.

'You stopped time.' Zeref nodded his head. Natsu turned his head to look at Ultear and saw that she too didn't move an inch. 'Why did you stop time?'

'I did it so that you can get out of here and return to your guild...Natsu...I suggest you prepare yourself for the next time you meet this man...if you don't...then I'm afraid what happened in the future will happen once again...'

'You bastard...'

'I'm doing this for your benefit Natsu...I need you to kill me...but you can not do such a thing as weak as you are now...if you think you can kill me as you are now, then you are arrogant...I will make sure you see how weak you are...I just hope for your sake that your arrogance doesn't kill the people you promised to protect...until you meet this man again...Natsu...' He said before disappearing. Natsu noticed that time was still stopped and he clenched his fists in anger.

"Damn him..." He growled before he walked out of Ultear's grasp. He looked at Seigrain's motionless body and glared at him. He clicked his tongue and then headed toward the window, opening it. He slipped outside, closing the window behind him and jumping down to the courtyard. He looked around and saw that time was still frozen. Everyone was stuck in the same spot that they were in before Zeref froze time. He quickly ran toward the exit.

When Natsu exited the building, time unfroze and when it did, Ultear lost her balance and fell down to the floor. Seigrain watched as she fell with a small smile as he then turned toward the window. His smile turned into a smirk as his thought projection disappeared. "Oww...what the hell happened?" Ultear asked as she saw that she was the only one left in the room. "Huh? Where...?" She looked around for either Seigrain or Natsu and saw none of them. She was left confused before she decided to remove her thought projection magic.

* * *

><p>After another grueling train ride, Natsu finally arrived back at Magnolia. He groaned after another painful train ride, but his thoughts never wandered off to what Zeref told him. Could he be right? Could Natsu really not be strong enough to kill him? Then came the last thing he said. There was no way he was going to let his nakama die. He would prove to Zeref that he was strong enough to protect them, that he was strong enough to kill him. He wasn't going to let the same thing happen to them.<p>

He looked down at the bento and figured he should eat it so that he didn't upset Mirajane. Just the thought of seeing her disappointed and worse crying was something he couldn't handle. He made his way toward the park and sat down on one of the benches. He grinned and opened up his bento. His eyes widened in amazement at the box filled with food. He then saw something that he wasn't really sure how to react, but he could feel his cheeks get warm a bit as Mirajane decorated the rice so that it looked like a large heart. 'S-She really went overboard...' He chuckled to himself and was about to dig in, but a voice froze him in his place.

"Natsu!" He turned his head to see Happy, Gray and Erza run over to him.

'Crap!' He panicked and quickly grabbed the bento, stuffed all the food in his mouth and swallowed all of it in one gulp before tossing the box away, ignoring the fact that the box eventually hit a walking pedestrian in the head. He then turned around to greet the others. "Yo."

"It's Lucy!" Happy suddenly yelled.

"Huh?" Natsu blinked in confusion. "What about her?"

"S-She's leaving Fairy Tail!" Happy cried as he went to hug his friend.

"W-What?" Natsu asked.

"When we went to go visit her at her apartment, she was not there and we found a note...it said that she was going back home." He explained through his sobs.

'Oh...that's right...' He smiled down at Happy and rubbed the top of his head. "I'm sure you just misunderstood, Happy. Lucy wouldn't leave Fairy Tail." He tried reassuring his best friend.

"I don't know about that." Gray told him. "That letter looked like she really was leaving us."

"Come on...there is no way..." Natsu replied.

"I know! Let's go after her and convince her to stay with Fairy Tail!" Happy suggested to the group.

"Great idea! Let's go!" Natsu told the others.

"Do you two even know where she is?" Gray asked.

"Of course...I could smell her going in that direction!" He pointed toward the west.

"That's just creepy..." Gray responded.

"Says the guy who strips all the time." Natsu retorted as both of them glared at each other. Erza didn't even notice the two arguing with each other as she kept her eyes on Natsu. Her thoughts were on the meeting he supposedly had with the Magic Council. From what she could see, there was nothing wrong with him physically and seeing as he was just in front of her, he wasn't criminal. It just didn't make any sense to her. She had to talk to him about it. She didn't care if he didn't want to or he couldn't. She was going to make him talk.

"Natsu...Gray...stop fighting!" Erza yelled at them and they froze in fear.

"W-Who said we're fighting..." Natsu chuckled nervously, wrapping an arm around Gray.

"Y-Yea Erza...we were just discussing what we should say to make sure Lucy stays..." Gray chuckled nervously as well.

"Then move it!" She kicked them as they jumped and hurried off toward the train station. Erza sighed before sighing and running after them, Happy flying above her.

* * *

><p>"Ugggh..." Natsu groaned as he held his stomach in pain. Erza sat next to him as Gray and Happy sat opposite of them.<p>

"You know every time I see you like this...I can't help but laugh..." Gray smirked. Natsu groaned something, but Gray couldn't understand him, which only made it even more funny.

Erza looked over at the pink haired Dragon Slayer and sighed. "Natsu..."

"Hmm...?" He looked over at her and then got punched in the stomach. He grunted in pain as fell on top of her lap and she placed a hand on his head. For some reason, Erza felt differently than the other times she did this back when they were kids. She felt her cheeks get warmer than usual as well as her lap, but it wasn't due to the heat that Natsu's body emitted. It felt nice. She smiled down at Natsu and then closed her eyes as she felt his warm breath tickle the skin on her legs.

"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Gray asked.

"Never doubt Natsu's nose!" Happy told him.

"Yeah...yeah..." Gray sighed and looked out the window, watching as scenery passed by.

The train eventually stopped at their destination and soon as it did, Natsu got on his feet and celebrated. Erza frowned at the loss of warmth. She also stood up and followed the others off the train. "Where is Lucy now?" Happy asked Natsu as he started to sniff the air. He then picked up her scent and pointed in the direction of a large field.

"That way!" He told them and they started heading in that direction. They ran until they finally were able to see Lucy in front of a grave of her mother.

"Lucy!" Happy cried out and when Lucy saw them, her eyes widened in shock as Happy flew straight to her chest and cried.

"H-Happy! Minna!" Lucy exclaimed. "W-What are you doing here?"

"W-We came to tell you not to leave us!" Happy cried.

"H-Huh?"

"We saw your letter, Lucy." Gray told her. "We thought you were returning home and not coming back to Fairy Tail."

"Oh...sorry...the truth is I did return home, but only to tell me father that Fairy Tail is my new home and I'm planning to stay with every one." Lucy told them as they all sighed.

"That's a relief..." Gray said.

"See...told ya!" Natsu laughed at him.

"Shut the hell up, fire breath!" He roared back as the two were now glaring at each other.

"Well, it's good to know you won't be leaving us, Lucy. Otherwise I'll have to do that ceremony." Erza told her, closing her eyes and smiling.

"Huh? Ceremony? What kind of ceremony?" Lucy asked her.

"Oh that wouldn't be good Lucy." Happy told her with a small look of horror on his face.

"Huh!? What is this ceremony?" Lucy panicked at the sight of Happy's face and started to think of diabolic things Erza might have done to her.

"Doesn't matter since I don't need to do it." Erza told her and then glared at the guys. "Alright you two stop fighting! We're heading back!" Gray and Natsu put their arms around each other and gave Erza a thumb up.

"Okay!"

"She has them in the palm of her hand..." Lucy chuckled.

"Aye!" Happy agreed and started following them.

* * *

><p>Team Natsu got back on the train headed toward Magnolia. Natsu groaned in pain as he clenched his stomach. Lucy sweat dropped, Gray smirked, Happy smiled and Erza had her eyes closed, trying her best to ignore the groan from the pink haired Dragon Slayer. Normally she would knock him out and let him rest on her lap, but this time he was sitting next to Lucy. She felt a bit disappointed, but didn't dare show it on her face. She opened one eye to take a look at Natsu who had his head leaning against the window. She frowned as she wanted some time to talk to him about what happened between him and the Magic Council, but she knew with Lucy and the others around she wouldn't have a chance. That and the fact that he was never in fully healthy on anything that moved didn't help either.<p>

Lucy looked over at Natsu and gave him a warm smile before glancing over at Erza. She remembered that Erza always comforted Natsu by punching him and then letting him rest on her lap, but she didn't have the heart to do that. The punching of course. She felt her cheeks get warm when she thought about letting him rest his head on her lap and hesitated performing such action. Looking back at him, she gulped and then shakingly asked him, "Hey Natsu...w-wanna lay down on my lap...y-you know to help feel better...?" Erza flinched, Gray's jaw slightly dropped and Happy gave Lucy a confused look. "W-What?" She asked them.

"N-Nothing..." Gray muttered and looked back out the window. Happy kept his confused look on Lucy before turning his attention to Natsu. Erza still had her eyes closed, but her thoughts were going insane.

'W-What? W-Why would she ask him that? S-Since when did she care about doing something like that for Natsu? I'm usually the one to do it. Wait...why do I care? I don't care...right? So then...why does it bother me?' She wondered. 'Oh well...it's not like he'll do it...' She put on a knowing smile and opened her eyes slightly. Her eyes widened in shock as Natsu softly landed on her lap, groaning in pain. She clenched her gauntlets tightly at the sight and then closed her eyes. 'That idiot! How could he...? No1 I don't care! That's right! I don't care...but why then...?'

Lucy blushed when he landed on her lap and couldn't say anything. She could feel his soft warm breath against her skin. She then remembered what else Erza did and slowly lifted her hand to brush her hand against Natsu's pink hair. Natsu slightly groaned, but found the pain to be bearable than earlier. "There, there..." Lucy softly whispered.

At the sound of her voice, Erza opened her eyes slightly and saw what Lucy was doing and felt her anger build up even more. 'Damn it...why do I feel so irritated? Why do I even care?'

Happy and Gray looked from Lucy to Erza and then back to Lucy and continued this until they looked at each other. They just shrugged and went back to looking at the passing scenery.

Suddenly, the train they took came to an screeching halt, causing Natsu's head to push into Lucy's stomach, making it difficult for her to breathe. When the train stopped, Natsu rolled off of Lucy and hit the floor. "O-Oww..." Natsu groaned. Lucy clenched her stomach at the sudden attack. When Natsu saw her, he was quick to apologize. "I'm sorry Luce! It wasn't my fault!"

"I-It's okay Natsu...I know it wasn't..." She chuckled a bit.

"What in the world happened?" Gray asked.

The sound of a ring was heard throughout the train as the train conductor started to speak through the voice box. "_We apologize for the inconvenience, but due to sudden damage on one of the tracks, we will be stopping at Balsam for the time being. Construction should be finished by morning so please be patient and enjoy the wonderful sights at Balsam while you have the time. Thank you for you cooperation._" The train then began moving again and Natsu slumped back down on the floor, holding his stomach.

"Well that's strange." Gray said as he sighed.

"Yeah...but I guess it's not all that bad. After all, we get to stay in Balsam." Erza replied with a small smile on her face.

* * *

><p>As soon as the team arrived at Balsam, they quickly went to reserve rooms for them at a hotel that had it's own outdoor hot spring. Lucy and Erza quickly jumped into the hot spring, while Gray, Natsu and Happy were in the room.<p>

"Hahaha! That's what you get!" Gray laughed as Natsu still felt a little sick from the train ride.

"Shut up!" He managed to yell out through the pillow as he laid on his futon.

"Come on Natsu! Let's go to the hot spring!" Happy cried, shaking his arm lightly.

"Not now buddy...why don't you go with Gray?" He told his best friend who looked at Gray.

"Why not...?" Gray smiled at Happy as he stood up.

"Yay!" Happy cheered and followed Gray out of the room. Natsu groaned as he heard the door shut.

'Damn...three train rides in one day...that's just too much!' He lifted his head up slightly and stared at the wall in front of him. He still couldn't keep the words that Zeref told him out of his head. It bothered him too much. He knew at that point, when Zeref showed up behind Seigrain or Jellal if you would call him also, that he was going to take on another one of Zeref's challenges. However, this time felt a little different. He never warned him before so why did he do so now? Was it to tell him that he was still too weak? Even after training for two years, he was still not powerful enough to defeat, or rather kill Zeref? Natsu just didn't want to believe that. No...he is strong...he is strong enough to kill Zeref! He will prove it to him! The sound of the door sliding open took him away from his thoughts. "What? You guys back alr-" He stopped mid sentence when he saw Erza at the door. She was wearing the Yukata that the hotel gave her and the others. He could see that her hair was still damp from the hot springs, but what really got him confused was the frown she had on her face. It wasn't a sad one, but more like one where she was worrying about something. "Oh...it's you Erza...what's up?"

"Natsu...there is something we need to talk about." She told him.

"Huh? What is it?" He asked not moving.

"It's about what happened between you and the Magic Council." Natsu's eyes narrowed a bit.

'I see...I shouldn't tell her about Seigrain or Jellal or whatever...especially since it involves Zeref...' He decided. "What about it?"

"What did they want?" She asked as she walked forward and sat down in next to him.

"Oh...well since I defeated that Jose guy they wanted me to become one of the Ten Wizard Saints...you know to replace him..." He heard her gasp and looked at her.

"A-Are you serious?" I gave her a nod. "S-So...did you accept or...?"

"No way!" He exclaimed, which made the scarlet haired woman slightly falter.

"W-Why?"

"Because it felt too much of a hassle." He replied. "I mean I have to report to the magic council about everything, do paperwork and all that crap...that's too boring..." Erza stared at him for a few second before she laughed. "What? What's so funny?"

"Nothing...it's just that I thought you might have changed...you know get a bit more mature after the two years, but you're still the same..." He narrowed his eyes at her and pouted.

"Hey! I changed..." She smiled at his response. The room suddenly became quiet, but Erza still had something else on her mind.

"Natsu...one of the members of the Magic Council...his name is Seigrain...did he...do anything to you or said anything?" Natsu's eyes widened at her question and clenched his hands under his pillow.

"Well...he did ask to speak to me alone..." He knew he should say anything, but he could just tell her that he wanted to talk to him and just leave everything about their conversation silent.

"What?!" W-What did he want?" She asked as he heard panic in her voice.

"Nothing...he just wanted to warn me about all the damage I've caused recently..." He lied and hoped he was convincing enough to not make her suspicious.

"I see..." Erza frowned. 'Natsu...why...why are you lying to me? What did Seigrain want?' Natsu saw her expression and hoped she didn't think he was lying. He then remembered about Mirajane.

'Crap...she must be worried...I should call her...wait...I don't even know my own phone number yet...wait...do I even have a phone?' Natsu tried to remember, but was drawing a blank. 'Crap...she's probably worrying about me...it feels...kind of nice...damn...what the hell is happening to me? I never felt like this before...it's not that I don't like it, but it also feels so weird...'

"Natsu..." When he heard Erza call him, he turned his head. "I was wondering...about the man who trained you for the two years you were gone...what was he like?"

"Huh? Why do you want to know?" He asked.

"Well, you became so much stronger...stronger than me...so I wanted to know about what you did and stuff...you know...small talk..." Natsu made an 'o' shape with his mouth and then looked up at the ceiling.

"Hmm...well...there really isn't much to say...we just traveled all around the country, visiting places and just learning new stuff..."

"Does he have a name?"

"Nope." He stated quickly.

"H-Huh?" She blinked at him in confusion. "What do you mean he didn't have a name?"

"Well...whenever I asked, he would hit me and tell me to call him master. When I asked him while he was drunk, he told me, '_My name~ hahaha...who cares what my name is...I'm just an old fool who loves to travel!~'_

"Must have been a good time..." Erza sweat dropped.

"Yeah...but...he was still a great teacher...he was so strong that he kind of felt like an older brother...hehehe...Igneel is my dad and he was like my older brother...it sure felt nice..." Natsu grinned and blushed slightly at the memories he had with him. Erza couldn't help but put a warm smile on her face. "Then again...there were times when he acted like the devil and beat me up a lot..."

"R-Right...well I guess that's something brothers do also..." Erza told him, giggling.

"Yeah...I guess you right about that!" He chuckled and gave her a grin that made her face get a little warm. The room became silent again as the only sounds were the chirping of crickets outside. Natsu then let out a yawn and got up on his knees to stretch. "Man...I'm tired from running all over the place today..." Erza giggled and then, out of nowhere, a pillow flew by her and hit Natsu in the face. She watched as he grabbed it, gripped it tightly and then glared at the person behind her. "You ice head!"

Erza knew who it was at the lame name Natsu called the person and reached down to grab the pillow next to her. She looked at Natsu and he looked back as the smirked mischievously. "Take this!" They both shouted and threw their pillows at Gray. One hit Gray in the face, while the other hit poor Lucy in her own as well.

"Hahahahaha!" Natsu laughed a she pointed a finger at the two.

"Damn you!" Gray grabbed several pillows and started flinging them at Natsu. Lucy could only sweat dropped as the three started a pillow fight. She had the idea of throwing one herself, but when she saw Erza throw a pillow at Natsu that caused him to fly outside the room, she stopped and dropped the pillow.

"I-I-I guess I'll go take a walk..." She chuckled nervously as she walked out.

"Aye! I'll go with you!" Happy exclaimed following right behind her as the other three continued their pillow fight.

* * *

><p>After one hellacious pillow fight, the three fell asleep as Lucy and Happy were out. Natsu suddenly sat up abruptly and let out a yawn. 'Damn...that dream startled me...who knew Erza could be such a demon...' At the thought of her name, he looked down to see Erza very close to him. He flinched slightly at how close she was and felt his cheeks get warm. 'Maybe that's why she popped up in my dream...' He sweat dropped. He smiled down at her and noticed at how pretty she looked. 'Wait...what the hell am I saying?' He ruffled his hair in frustration. 'Damn it...what the hell is going on with me...' He sighed and looked around the room and saw that neither Lucy or Happy were around. 'Hmmm...I wonder they went? Oh right...she told me about how she met Loke here...she sure came back angry...' At that thought, she saw the door slide open and saw Lucy walking into the room with a sad frown on her face and what looked like tears in her eyes. When she made contact with Natsu, her eyes widened.<p>

"Natsu...I'm sorry...d-did I wake you...?" She asked as she held a sleeping Happy in her arms.

"Nah...I've been up for a while..." He whispered and she gave him a sad smile.

"Oh okay then..." She walked forward and placed Happy on top of one of the futons. Natsu watched her quietly as she placed a blanket over Happy's small body. When she stood up, he saw the sadness in her eyes and suddenly had the urge to do something he never though of doing. He stood up, walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her from behind. Lucy's eyes widened at this and felt her cheeks get red. "N-N-Natsu...w-what are you...?"

"Shhh..." He whispered into her ear. "...I don't know why you look so sad...but I just want to let you know that I'm here if you want to talk...I told you that...remember?" He felt her nod as she looked down at the floor with narrowed eyes and a sad frown.

"Thank you...Natsu...but...I'm okay..." She placed a hand on his arm.

"Are you sure?" He asked again. She nodded. "Alright then..." He started to remove his arms from her.

"Wait..." She whispered quietly as she placed her hands on his arms. "...can we...just stay like this...for a little while longer...?"

He looked at her and leaned his chest against her back. "Alright..." The two stayed like this for a few minutes longer before Lucy's eyes felt heavy. He noticed her body was loosening up and slowly started to lower her to the floor and then leaned her head back to a pillow. He looked down at her and smiled at her sleeping form. He suddenly felt the same sensation as he did with Erza and blushed. He quickly shook his head to get rid of such thoughts as memories of the night he had with Mirajane began plaguing his mind. 'Damn it...what the hell is happening to me...I'm acting like some sort of pervert...oh no...don't tell me I'm turning into a pervert like Gray or Loke or worse...like Cana!' His stomach churned at the thought and quickly scurried off to the corner of the room away from both Lucy and Erza. He let out sigh and brush a hand through his pink locks. 'Oh man...my head hurts...' That night...Natsu had trouble sleeping.

**To Be Continued...**

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><p><strong>Author Notes:<strong> Well, at long last here is a new chapter! I'm really sorry for how long it has been since I update but I have a good reason. My laptop developed the worse disease imaginable...the blue screen of death! Da da duuuuunnnn! See what I did there? No? Oh well...I tried. But seriously I have been getting the blue screen, which caused me to reboot my entire laptop. I did create backup files, but whenever I tried to get them...during the third disc, the blue screen popped up again! I was like WTF!?

Turned out that there was a program in the third disc that caused the blue screen to pop up. So, instead of getting everything from the discs back, I just picked pictures, documents and music to get back and what do you know...I got it all back! Unfortunately, the blue screen kept coming back while I was typing up the chapter. Sigh...I tried to do something else to get rid of it and hopefully it works. As I'm writing now, it's working just fine. I have to wait 36 hours to see if the blue screen pops up again so I'm hoping it doesn't.

Anyway, other than that here is the new chapter and I hope you guys like the decision I made with Zeref warning Natsu while he was talking to Seigrain as well as some of the advances of the relationship between Erza and Lucy into the harem. Also, what I plan to do with Natsu's new apartment as it resembles a lot like another gag manga I read, bonus points for those who know what manga I'm talking about. I'm hoping to get the next chapter out before the stories one year anniversary. In fact, I'm hoping to get one out before it and then another chapter out on that day as it will become a big breaking point in the story Well, to me it will. Until next time!

**P.S. ** I have been getting a reviews about the whole dragon force thing and how it could shorten Natsu's life span...well...here is finally my answer...Dragon Force and Dragon Metamorphosis are two different techniques. Yeah I know you are all probably saying, 'Is this guy an idiot or something? It's the same thing!' Well to me I don't see how the two are similar. Dragon force is still unknown so I don't know if it is the same thing as Dragon metamorphosis, but I view the two as completely different. Dragon force gives the user a burst of magic and a couple of markings all over his body. Dragon M. transforms the user's body part into the scales of a dragon and the actual parts of Dragons. That is what I have to say on the matter.


	22. Natsu and The Tower of Heaven

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related which includes the characters of Fairy Tail.

**Rated M! You have been warned!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 22: Natsu and The Tower of Heaven<strong>

"I'm home." Natsu called out as he let out a yawn. He walked into his home and was immediately tackled, sending him crashing to the floor. "Ow...what the...?" He groaned and lifted his head to see Mirajane on his chest. "M-Mira...?"

"I'm so glad...you're okay..." He heard her whisper as she gripped his vest tightly. "When you didn't come back yesterday...I thought...I thought something happened..."

"I'm sorry...I wanted to call, but I don't even know if this place has a phone or something..." He told her. She lifted her head and smiled at him.

"It's okay..." She leaned forward and kissed him softly.

"Wah!" Mirajane pulled away from the kiss and looked up to see Happy with his eyes widened in shock at what he just witnessed. "N-N-Natsu and Mira...Natsu and Mira...Natsu and Mira..." He repeated as Mirajane giggled at the Exceed and Natsu felt himself panic a bit. "I...I...I have to tell everyone..." He started to slowly turn around and was about to make a dash toward the guild, but Natsu quickly grabbed his tail, stopping him.

"Hold up, Happy! Let me explain this!" Natsu told him, but all he could hear from his best friend was his and Mirajane's name. Natsu sighed. He felt Mirajane get off of him and walk toward Happy. She picked him up and turned to face him. She smiled down at him.

"Come on, Happy...let's go to the kitchen...we'll explain everything there over a nice warm breakfast..." Happy then finally said something else besides Natsu or Mirajane.

"Will there be fish?" He asked as Natsu sweat dropped at his question.

"Of course." She smiled warmly at him.

"Yay! Then let's go!" Happy cheered as Mirajane giggled at his excitement. She gave Natsu a smile before walking toward the kitchen. Natsu smiled back and thought of how a great mother she could be and suddenly blushed.

'What the hell am I thinking?' He put his hands on his head. He sighed and closed the door. He then followed the two into the kitchen and when his eyes saw the food he was amazed. "Sugoi..." His mouth watered over the scent of the delicious food.

"Isn't this great Natsu?!" Happy told his best friend as he chowed down on his fish.

"It sure does!" He exclaimed and sat down in the chair and started eating. "Sugoi...it's so good." He cried in bliss.

"I'm glad you like it, Natsu, Happy." Mirajane smiled at the two.

"Yeah, it's really good Mira! Did you buy all of the stuff to make this?" Natsu asked.

"Some of it, but most of the ingredients I found around the kitchen. I'm surprised that you kept everything so orderly. It was really easy to find everything."

"Really? That's good..." He chuckled. 'Weird...I don't remember buying anything or organizing anything...must have been him then...that guy...I can never understand what goes on in that head of his...' He frowned. He shrugged and went back to eating.

"So...why did Mira kiss you Natsu?" Natsu slightly choked on his food at the sudden question. He knew he was going to ask eventually, but he never thought he was going to ask while he had food in his mouth. Once he stopped choking, he turned his head to look at his best friend.

"Don't ask questions like that when I'm eating?" He yelled.

"Aye! So, why?" He asked again. Natsu slightly blushed and Happy couldn't help but smirk at his best friend.

"W-Well...you see...umm..."

"Oh yeah, why were you here anyway, Mira?" Happy asked. Mirajane smiled at him.

"That's because I'm going to live here from now on." She told him.

"Eh? Why?" Happy asked.

"Isn't it obvious? If you're in love, you want to be as close as possible to the person you love and how close can one get than by living with that person." Mirajane responded as she smiled warmly at Natsu. The Dragon Slayer only blushed at her words.

"Eh? You love Natsu?" Happy asked in shock.

"Yep!"

"Oi, Happy. You sounded surprise by that?" Natsu narrowed his eyes.

"Because it is!"

"What!? I'm lovable!"

"Aye! I can't wait to tell everyone at the guild! It should be funny seeing all their shocked faces." He laughed at the thought.

"Wait a minute Happy...please don't tell anyone!" Natsu told him.

"Hmm? Why?"

"It would best if we don't tell them for now, Happy. Otherwise, Natsu might get killed." She answered.

'So I'm really am going to get killed!' Natsu cringed.

"Oh...I see...but it sure would be funny to see that!"

"What kind of friend are you?" Natsu shouted.

"Your best friend!" Happy exclaimed. Natsu sighed.

"Just please don't tell anyone." He asked again while clasping his hands together.

"Hmm..." Happy thought about it.

"Tell you what, Happy." Mirajane spoke. "If you promise to keep all this a secret, I promise to make you any type of fish meal you want."

"Really!?" She nodded her head.

"Okay then! I promise!" Happy exclaimed as Mirajane offered him another fish.

'That was too easy.' Natsu sweat dropped. He sighed and then looked at Mirajane who was smiling at him. He smiled back before returning to his breakfast.

The three finished their meal and Natsu let out a sigh of relief as his belly grew from all the wonderful fish he ate. Natsu helped Mirajane with the dishes as he used his flames to cool down the dishes she washed. "Thank you for your help, Natsu." She thanked him as she finished with the last dish and handed it to him.

"I should be the one thanking you, Mira. I didn't think convincing Happy to keep everything a secret so easily."

She giggled. "It was nothing."

"So, should we head over to the guild?" He asked. She nodded and they turned around and saw that Happy was taking a nap on the table.

"He fell asleep." Natsu sweat dropped.

"Natsu..."

"Hmm? What is-" He couldn't finish as he suddenly felt Mirajane's lips on his. She moaned into the kiss as she pressed herself against his chest. He felt his back hit against the sink behind him. He was surprised by the sudden kiss, but slowly closed his eyes and started to kiss her back. He wrapped his arms around her waist. Mirajane wrapped her arms around his neck as the two made out in the kitchen with Happy sleeping on the table in front of them.

Mirajane broke the kiss and smiled at the person she loved. "You're getting better." She told him.

"R-Really?" Natsu asked with a slight blush.

"Mm." She responded and leaned her head against his chest. The two just stayed in each others embrace as the only sound heard was the sounds of one happy Exceed snoring away.

"Hey Mira..."

"What is it?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Hai."

"Why do you love me?"

"Huh?" He heard her as she looked up at him.

"Ah, sorry. You don't have to answer if you don't want to..." He apologized.

"No..." Mirajane smiled. "I love you because of who you are. You're always there to cheer everyone up and make the guild lively. You're strong and always put everyone else before yourself. Slowly, you became one of the reasons why I always wanted to go to the guild. I always wanted to see what kind of crazy things you would do for the day. When you were gone I...I...missed you...a lot. I didn't know why, but I felt like you went away because of what happened to Lisanna and it was my fault." Natsu made a slight noise in surprise. "When you came back, those thoughts were completely erased. You weren't angry at me nor did you resent me. You came back stronger and I guess that's when I started to have feelings for you. Maybe...even when we were kids."

"Mira..." Natsu stared down at her in awe. She pulled away from his chest and smiled at him. She leaned up and kissed him. She giggled.

"Ne, Natsu...Happy is asleep..." Mirajane whispered seductively.

"Yeah...so?" Natsu asked, tilting his head slightly to the side in confusion. Mira giggled at his confusion and grabbed his hand.

"Come on...let's head upstairs..." She added.

"Huh? But aren't we supposed to head to the guild?" Natsu asked confused as he started to follow her.

"Oh Natsu...you don't get it, do you?" She giggled at how clueless he was. "Besides, it's not like they are waiting for us."

"Wait...what don't I get?" He asked. Mira smiled and leaned toward his ear and whispered something to him. Natsu's eyes widened and he felt his cheeks get warm. "N-Now!?"

"You don't want to?" She pouted in disappointment.

"Ah! It's not that I don't want to...but..." He replied flustered.

"Hehehe...come on." She pulled him again. Natsu looked behind him to see that Happy was still asleep. He looked back at Mira. He sighed, but then grinned and picked her up bridal style. She gasped, but then giggled as she kissed him, while he headed up the stairs toward his bedroom.

[**I WAS CONTEMPLATING WHETHER TO HAVE A LEMON SCENE HERE OR JUST HINT AT IT, BUT WHAT THE HELL WHO DOESN'T LIKE A GOOD LEMON! IF YOU WANT TO READ IT, GO TO MY OTHER ACCOUNTS AT AFF OR YOURFANFICTION! THE LINKS ARE AT MY PROFILE PAGE! IF YOU DON'T THEN KEEP READING AND I'LL TRANSITION TO THE GUILD WITH THE OTHERS AS HAPPY AND NATSU ARRIVE A FEW MINUTES AFTER MIRAJANE!]**

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><p>Natsu let out a yawn as he felt extremely tired. Not only did he not get enough sleep last night, he was tired from the coitus he had with Mirajane a couple of minutes ago. Now he was heading toward the guild, with Happy walking next to him, singing some sort of song about fish.<p>

When they arrived at the guild, he saw Lucy sitting at a table by herself with a small frown on her face. He raised an eyebrow and walked over to her. "Yo Luce! Is everything alright?" Lucy jumped in surprise at the sound of his voice and looked at him.

"Oh...Natsu...no everything is fine..." She told him, looking down at the table with a knew she was lying. She was definitely still troubled by the whole Loke thing. He sighed and took a seat next to her. Happy too sat down in between them.

"Come on Luce...talk to me...I know something's bothering you...we're here to help you, right Happy?"

"Aye! What's wrong, Lucy?" Happy agreed.

Lucy looked at the two and sighed. "It's about Loke...I met him back at Balsam." She began. Natsu motioned her to continue. "He told me...that he didn't have much time left...I couldn't believe what I was hearing...but then I found out that it was just a joke...can you believe that jerk?" She ended with a raise of her voice.

"I see..." Natsu responded. "Have you talked to him since then?" Natsu asked.

"N-No...I...I haven't seen him since then..." Lucy responded.

"Hey!" The three turned their heads to see several women confronting Mirajane at the temporary bar. "Where is Loke?

"Yeah! Where is he?"

"He broke up with me last night! Why?"

"Me too!"

"Yeah me too!"

"We demand to know where he is!"

"Umm...I'm sorry but I haven't seen Loke for some time..." Mirajane gave them a crooked smile.

"I know I bet he found someone from the guild!"

"Who is she?"

"Tell us!"

"Ummm..." Mirajane wasn't sure what to do. She glanced over at Natsu and from what he could see in her eyes, she needed his help. Natsu wasn't sure what he can do, but seeing Mirajane needing some help, he couldn't refuse her. He got up and walk over to the girls.

"Oi! Leave Mira alone! She doesn't know where Loke and neither do any of us! So, just get out and-" He didn't finish as the girls all glares at him before pounding him into the dirt comically.

"Natsu is in trouble..." Happy stated as he grabbed a small fish from his bag and began biting on it.

"Should we help him?" Lucy asked.

"Nah, he should be fine."

"Don't talk to us like that you unattractive man!"

"Tell us where Loke is, damn it!" The women all screamed at him while kicking him. Eventually, the women stopped and started pestering the other guild members on Loke's whereabouts. Mirajane, Lucy and Happy all ran toward him as he slightly twitched at being stomped at.

"Natsu...are you okay?" Lucy asked.

"Huh...yeah...I'm fine..." He responded sitting up and rubbing his head. "Who thought they were so vicious..."

"I'm sorry, Natsu." Mirajane apologized, giving him a soft smile.

"It's okay, Mira. It wasn't your fault." He told her. He then turned toward Happy. "By the way buddy, why didn't you help me?" He narrowed his eyes at him.

"I'm a cat."

"What kind of reasoning is that?"

"If I helped they would be all over me because of how cute I am." He explained.

"You..." He growled. He sighed and then looked at Lucy to see her looking down at the ground with a frown. He couldn't stand seeing her like this, but what could he do. He couldn't just tell her the truth about Loke. That would cause all sorts of trouble. What could he do? "Hey Lucy...why don't you go look for Loke?"

"Huh? B-But I don't know where he is..." She responded. "...and why should I...after he played such a cruel joke..."

"Are you sure it was a joke?" He asked.

"Huh?"

"I don't know what that guy is planning, but why would he say something like that just as a joke." Natsu told her. "If you ask me, that's something you don't joke about." Lucy stared at Natsu in awe before she had an idea.

"Thanks Natsu, I think I know a way to find him!" She told him and then ran off.

"Ah! Wait for me, Lucy!" Happy called out to her and followed after her. Natsu watched the two with a smile but then sighed.

"Man...I'm so tired..."

"Oh...gomen..." Mirajane blushed. Natsu hearing her, started waving his hands in front of him with a slight tint on his cheek.

"Ah, no not that! It's just that, I didn't sleep well lat night."

"Oh...gomen...why didn't you say so...then we wouldn't have done that..." She whispered to him, frowning a bit in guilt.

"Ah! It's not your fault." Natsu told her. "It's not like...I didn't want to do it..." He whispered with a flustered face. Mirajane smiled warmly at him. She wanted to just hug and kiss Natsu, but seeing as they were in the guild and in front of the others, she stopped herself.

"Oi, what the hell are you doing on the floor?" Natsu looked up to see his rival Gray looking down at him.

"Nothing." Natsu replied standing up. He helped Mirajane up as well.

"Natsu got beat up by a group of girls..." Gray heard someone from another table say.

"Oh? I see...so you were beat up by a group of girls...such a weakling..." Gray mocked him.

"Shut up! You don't know what happened." Natsu defended himself.

"Oh...you still got beat up..." Gray tried to suppress a chuckle.

"You want to go, pervert!"

"Who are you calling a pervert!?" Both glared at each other. Mirajane giggled at them before she walked back to the bar.

"Natsu."

"Huh?" The two turned their heads to glare at the person who interrupted their glare contest. They stopped when they saw that it was the Master.

"Oh...what's up, Old Man?"

"How was your meeting?" He asked.

"Oh...nothing much...they just wanted me to be one of the Ten Wizard Saints..." Everyone froze in place at his announcement and gawked at Natsu. Even Mirajane was surprised by this. "What?"

"Are you fucking kidding me!?" Gray shouted in his ear.

"Don't yell at my ear, damn it!" Natsu yelled back.

"Why would they pick you to be one of the Ten Wizard Saints?" Gray continued.

"It's because I beat up that Jose guy, alright! They needed someone to fill in his spot as soon as possible and since I defeated him they wanted me to be one of them." He explained.

"Impressive...to think the Magic Council would do that. So...what was your answer?" Everyone stared at Natsu.

"I said fuck no!" Everyone's jaw dropped at his answer. Mirajane was the only who giggled as she saw this as a Natsu type response.

"Why would you say that to the Magic Council?" Makarov yelled at him.

"Because I didn't want to be a Wizard Saint and deal with all that crap." Natsu explained. "I want to be able to go on jobs like a normal mage without reporting to the Magic Council with all that stupid technical stuff." He explained.

Makarov was just too shocked to do anything. He knew Natsu was a knucklehead, but this was on a whole new different level. He could understand why he didn't want to be a Wizard Saint, but he could have just said no. He sighed. "You really are one of a kind."

"Oh...thanks, Old Man." Natsu grinned.

"That wasn't a compliment!" Makarov yelled at him before sighing again. "Well, it's not like I can change your mind." He told him. "Now then, on to another matter...let's talk about making you an S Class Mage."

"Oh yeah...I kind of forgot about that..." He chuckled. Makarov's eyebrow slightly twitched at his idiocy, but calmed himself down. "Anyway...since we normally don't promote anyone unless they pass the the exam, you are a different case. The only way I could think of is by having a ceremony. Now, when this ceremony will take place is a different matter. Since the guild is being rebuilt at the moment, we can't have the ceremony. So, as part of the grand opening of our new home, we will also have the ceremony. How about that?"

"Sounds good to me! How will this ceremony go anyway?" Natsu asked.

"Walk with me and I'll tell you everything." Makarov told him and Natsu nodded his head.

"Yosh!" Natsu followed Makarov as the two walked side by side and away from the guild.

* * *

><p>"Are you okay, Lucy?" Happy asked as he looked up at her as he stood on her bed next to her.<p>

"I...I don't know..." She replied. "I just have this bad feeling...like something bad is going to happen...even though I slapped Loke...I just get this feeling that he wasn't joking...so...I want to know more about Loke and I'm hoping Grandpa-Crux can help someway." She raised her head to look at the Celestial Spirit floating across the bed. "Please, can you investigate for me an Celestial Spirit Mage that Loke may have been involved with?"

"Fuuu...Fuu...Fuuu..." Grandpa-Crux moaned.

"Lucy...I think he fell asleep..." Happy told her.

"No...he's just searching..." Lucy replied moving toward the other end of her bed.

"Huh!? No way! He has to be asleep!" Happy yelled back.

"Grandpa-Crux knows everything that goes on in both the Celestial Spirit World and the Human World. With his help, I think I can find out about Loke." Suddenly, Grandpa-Crux let out a loud roar that frightened Happy as he hid behind Lucy's arm. "Did you find something!?" She asked.

"Hum...Lucy-sama...I can't be too precise since this is a matter of the Spirit World, but the Celestial Spirit Mage that Mr. Loke has been in contact with is Miss Kalian Lilica." He answered.

"Huh? Kalian Lilica!" Lucy screamed in shock.

"You know her, Lucy?" Happy asked.

"She was a famous Celestial Spirit Mage who was very beautiful and was on the cover of Sorcerer Magazine!" Lucy explained. "However, I heard she died on a mission a few years ago."

"Then she must have been part of a guild, right?"

"Yeah, I think it was the Blue Pegasus. Then...what did she have to do with Loke?"

"I'm afraid that is all I can tell you, Lucy-sama..." Grandpa-Cruz told her as he dropped his head. "Fuu~"

"He says that but it looks like he's searching again." Happy stated.

"No...he's asleep."

"EHHH!?"

Lucy ignored Happy's scream as she tried to find some reason to how Loke and Kalian were connected. The worried and strange feeling she had earlier came back and it became worse. "Lucy! Big Trouble!" Lucy screamed as Gray suddenly slid into her room. "Loke left Fairy Tail!"

"What!?" They both screamed.

"But why!?" Lucy asked jumping off her bed.

"Nobody knows! Everyone is out looking for him!" Gray responded. "That guy...he's been acting all strange lately..."

Lucy then figured it out. "Could it be..."

"Huh?" Gray watched as started to run out of her apartment. "Oi Lucy! Where do you plan to go look for him!?"

* * *

><p>Natsu let out a yawn. "Oh man am I tired..." He whined as he rubbed his eyes. He wasn't sure why it took so long talking to Makarov about the entire ceremony thing, but it did and the next thing he knew, the entire day was gone.<p>

"Loke!" He heard someone scream and looked to his right to see Erza running. He then remembered that tonight was the night that Lucy helped Loke return to the Spirit World. The only problem was was that he wasn't sure where she went to do such a thing. Shrugging it off, he decided to just pretend like he didn't know anything and search for him. He was about to go to Erza when he noticed blond colored hair at the corner of his eyes. He turned and saw Lucy running somewhere. He furrowed his eyebrows and decided to follow her.

When he saw her stop, he hid behind a rock and then peaked his head out to see what was going on. He saw Loke and narrowed his eyes at him. He saw them talking to each other, Lucy mostly doing the shouting. Natsu waited patiently. Loke then collapsed. He wasn't sure why he collapsed, but didn't move from his spot. He then saw something happen to his hands, followed by Lucy hugging him. He wasn't sure why, but he slightly gasped at the hug. 'Weird...oh well it's probably nothing...' He then continued watching the two. Suddenly, he felt strong magical energy forming around the two. The water from the waterfall started thrashing round violently and the ground slightly shook. 'Wow...who would have thought this happened...'

Suddenly the water rose and started coming together like a whirlpool in the air in front of Lucy and Loke. When it dispersed, a large figured appeared, one Natsu recognized as the Celestial Spirit King. "What are you doing here!?" He heard Loke scream. Natsu didn't move and just watched to see how it all will play out. Natsu was amazed at how Lucy was determined to save Loke. She even stood up against the large spirit, the king no less, was amazing. He couldn't help but smile at her.

Eventually, Lucy was able to convince the Spirit King to let Loke return to the Spirit World. Lucy was glad she was able to help Loke as he left behind his key for her. Lucy smiled down at the key and let out a sigh of relief knowing that everything was going to be fine. Natsu walked out of his hiding spot and started walking toward her. Lucy didn't notice Natsu until he stopped just behind her. She turned her head and looked up at his grinning face. "N-Natsu...w-what are you...?"

"Yo Lucy! That was awesome!" Natsu told her.

"Huh?"

"You know...how you stood up to that big guy..." He raised his arms to emphasize the largeness of the Spirit King.

"Y-You saw all that...huh?" She asked and he nodded his head. "How did you know where to find me?"

"When I finished talking to the Old Man about my S Class Ceremony, I heard Erza and the others were looking for Loke so I thought I would help, but then I saw you and figured you might have known where he was and so I followed you. Sorry if that sounded a bit wrong." He told her. Lucy shook her head with a smile.

"No...it's okay...I'm just glad everything is fine now." She told him.

"Yeah, you did good, Luce." Lucy couldn't help but blush a little at the praise she received.

"Thank you, Natsu." She felt her entire warm up a little.

"No problem. Let's head back, you must be exhausted." He said, kneeling down to her.

"Yeah...but I can't move...I guess I must have exhausted a lot of my magic..." She chuckled.

"Yosh!" She looked at him and watched as he turned around, got down on one knee and then offered her a ride on his back. At the gesture, she blushed a very deep shade of red.

"W-What are you doing!?" She stuttered.

"Hmm? You said you couldn't move so I'm offering you a ride." He told her with a small tilt of the head.

"Y-Yeah...but..." She started fidgeting to go along with her flustered face. He wasn't sure why she hesitated.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

Lucy couldn't answer that as her voice suddenly disappeared. She never felt so embarrassed in her life before. Her face was red, her cheeks felt like they were on fire and her heart beat against her chest so hard it felt like it was trying to escape her body. 'W-What should I do...? Should I...do it? But it's so embarrassing...but if I don't then I might not get another chance like this...oh wait what am I saying? This is so frustrating!' Lucy fought with her inner voice who told her to do it. She didn't know what to do, but she knew as each second went by that her inner voice was telling her to get on Natsu's back and give her a piggy back ride back to her apartment.

"Luce...?" Natsu called out to her. She didn't respond and so he called her name again. "Luce!"

"Huh!? W-What!?" She screamed in surprise and looked at him.

"Are you okay?" He asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Oh yeah...I'm fine..." She replied with small waves of her hand a reddened cheeks.

"Oh...so are you coming or what?" He asked again and turned around.

"Um..." She bit her bottom lip and decided to just go with it. "A-Alright..." She crawled toward him and then onto his back. She wrapped her arms around his neck and let out a small gasp as she felt his hands on her legs before lifting her up along with himself.

"Yosh! Let's go!" He said and then started walking back to Magnolia.

Lucy could feel the warmth Natsu's entire body emitted and found it to be soothing. In fact, it felt so good that it was making her sleepy. She tried her best to stay awake, but it really was difficult for her. Natsu felt Lucy's head act weird on his back and turned his head to see what was wrong. When he saw what it was, he smiled and turned back around. She was trying hard to not fall asleep on his back, but just from looking at her, he could tell she was losing to sleep. "Arigatou...Natsu..." He made a noise in surprise at her voice and turned his head to see her sound asleep. He smiled at her and just continued walking toward her apartment.

When he entered her apartment, he made his way toward her bed and gently laid her down on her bed. Grabbing her sheets, he put them over her and smiled down at her. He didn't know it at first but he was staring at her with his smile still on his face. When he finally realized it, he shook his head. 'Damn...what the hell is wrong with me?' He wondered. 'First back at the inn and now here...damn it...' He sighed and looked at Lucy one more time before heading toward the door. He softly closed the door behind him and out of her apartment.

* * *

><p>Before he could go back home and go to sleep, he caught up with the others and told them that Lucy found Loke and she would have Loke apologize to everyone. After everyone went home, so did Natsu. He yawned a she opened the door to his home and as soon as he did, he could smell the sweet aroma of food coming from the kitchen. He entered the kitchen and saw Mirajane putting on the finishing touches on the dinner she prepared for the three. Happy was watching with drool in his mouth as he couldn't wait to dig in. When Mirajane noticed Natsu, she put on a big smile and welcomed him back home.<p>

"Welcome home, Natsu! You just came right on time! I just finished dinner!" Natsu looked at the food in awe.

"Sugoi! This looks so good!" She giggled at his response.

"Thank you Natsu. You two can go ahead and start eating. I'll go wash my hands." She told them and as soon as Happy heard her, he started eating any dish that had even a piece of fish in it. Once he took a bite out of one, his expression changed one to delight.

"Soooo goooood..." He moaned. "I'm so glad Mira is staying here!" Natsu smiled at his best friend and he too started eating. His mouth watered at the sensational taste.

"You're right Happy! It is gooood!" He agreed and Mirajane smiled at the man she loved.

"I'm so glad you like it Natsu." She replied, placing her hand son her cheeks, feeling the warmth of her blush. She too then sat down and began enjoying dinner with the two. After all the food was eaten, Happy was sleeping soundly on the table like he did in the morning. Mirajane smiled at the blue flying cat and made her way toward the sink and placed the dishes in it. Natsu helped and when all the dishes were in the sink, he felt the lack of sleep slowly deprive him of his energy. Having a nice warm meal can also do that to a guy. Mirajane noticed this and smiled at Natsu. "Come on Natsu...let's head to sleep."

"Yeah..." He yawned in response and went over to pick up Happy. The two walked up the stairs, Happy in Natsu's arms, and first walked over to Happy's room. Natsu placed him on his little bed and tucked him in. Mirajane couldn't help but think about how it looked like they were mother and father putting their son to sleep. Such thoughts made her feel all warm and giddy inside. Did she eventually want to have children, of course she did. What kind of woman wouldn't want to experience being a mother? However, she was still too young for such a responsibility and she knew that Natsu wouldn't want to be a father either. It was just too soon for them. Luckily for the both of them, Mirajane knew the magic spell that prevented pregnancy, so there was no chance of her getting pregnant anytime soon. "Ready to go?" Natsu asked her as she nodded her head. They walked out of the room and closed the door silently behind him.

"I'll be right back Natsu...I'm going to go change..." She told him and he nodded his head. He walked with her until his room and then watched as she walked over to her room and entered it. He yawned again and entered his room. He immediately went over to his body, fell on it and closed his eyes. A little while later, he heard the sound of his door opening. He knew who it was, so he kept his eyes closed. "You must be really tired...Natsu."

"Yeah..." He responded quietly. "After everything I had to go through today, I'm beat."

Mirajane giggled. "I'm sure you are. Then let me sing you something to help you get to sleep." Natsu moaned softly and Mirajane took this as a yes. She opened her mouth and began singing. (I won't put the lyrics because of this whole thing about fics with songs in them getting deleted, but the name of the song is Tabidatsu Mono he)

When Mirajane finished, she looked down at Natsu and heard him snoring. She smiled and leaned down to give him a kiss on the forehead. She crawled over to the other side and laid her down on the pillow. She smiled at Natsu. "Good night, Natsu." She closed her eyes and soon fell asleep as well.

* * *

><p>"What!? You were a Celestial Spirit!" Gray shouted as the gang were shocked at the truth, except for Lucy, Natsu, Happy and Mirajane, Natsu telling the latter two about what happened with Loke during dinner.<p>

"Yep! That's pretty much it." Loke scratched the back of his head.

"Damn...I never noticed it at all..." Gray grumbled.

"Yeah well...sorry about that." Loke apologized.

"What kind of spirit are you?" Happy asked.

"He's the Lion Celestial Spirit." Lucy answered for him.

"Huh? Lion!" Happy shouted in awe. "That means you're like a grown up cat!"

"That's right!" Loke smiled at him.

"No it doesn't!" Lucy shouted.

"Uwaaa! That's so cool!" Happy looked at him in amazement.

"Anyway, so what's going to happen now?" Gray asked.

"Unfortunately, I can't go back to the old days anymore. Now that Lucy is my owner I have to go back to the Spirit World and only appear when Lucy is in danger as her knight in shining armor." He told him and then walked over to Lucy. He suddenly picked her up making her blush in embarrassment. "Speaking of which, let's go talk about our plans for the future."

"Ahhh! Put me down!" Lucy screamed as she thrashed around in his arms. Loke smiled at her, but did as she asked and put her down. Lucy sighed and crossed her arms with a slight blush on her cheeks. She wandered her eyes over to Natsu to see if he had any reaction to what happened, but saw that he was grinning at her and waved his hand at her. This made her frown in disappointment.

"Ah! That reminds me!" Loke suddenly said and searched his back pockets. He then took out what looked like to be pieces of paper and handed them to Lucy. "Here."

"What are these?" She asked, inspecting them.

"Well since I can't spend time in the human world for long like I used to, I've got these tickets for a resort that I had originally planned to take with some of my girlfriends, but you guys have really helped me out so I wanted to give them to you." He pushed his glasses up with his finger and gave a small wink to Lucy. "You should go and have a good time."

"The beach!" Lucy screamed in excitement.

"Whoa! I never stayed at such a fancy hotel like this before!" Gray exclaimed as he stared at his ticket in awe.

Natsu stared at his ticket with a frown. 'Erza...I won't let Zeref do anything to Jellal...you can count on it...' He told himself and smirked.

"I already gave one to Erza, so have fun!" Loke told them before he disappeared back to the Spirit World.

"Yay!" Happy cheered as he too was excited about the trip.

"Why are you guys just standing around? If you want to hitch a ride, feel free to hop on..." Erza spoke as she arrived with a wagon of her belongings.

"What's with all that stuff!?" Gray and Lucy screamed as they saw the wagon. Natsu smiled and then walked over to the bar to tell Mirajane where he was going.

"Huh? A resort?" Mirajane asked as Natsu nodded.

"Yeah, Loke gave us tickets so we're going to go to the resort to relax." He told her.

"Oh, I see. Then have fun!" Mirajane told him.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" He asked and she nodded her head.

"Of course! I'm sure nothing can go wrong if you had a little fun." She giggled.

'Hehehehe...boy are you wrong...' He mentally chuckled. "Alright then! I'll see you when I get back." He told her and she nodded her head. He ran off to meet with the others as they failed to notice his presence disappearing. Mirajane waved at him as she watched his retreating back. She smiled to herself and went back to tending the bar. As she walked past a mug, she failed to notice the little crack that suddenly appeared.

* * *

><p>Team Natsu arrived at the resort and instantly went to the beach to enjoy the sun. They swam and even played games. By the time they decided to head back to the hotel, the sun was setting. Erza smiled to herself as she sun bathe on the balcony of her room. 'Today was really fun...I'm glad...' Erza thought as she sighed into her seat. Suddenly memories of her past began to plague her mind like a virus. She sat up abruptly and felt her heart racing inside her chest. She placed a hand to her chest and took deep breaths to settle down. When she succeeded she frowned and stared at the floor. She put a hand to her forehead and sighed. "It was just a dream..." She said to herself. She looked up and noticed that it was already dark. "I must have nodded off..."<p>

"Erza." She gasped and jumped off the seat, preparing to battle whatever dumb ass decided to sneak up on her. She settled down when she Natsu standing at the door.

"Natsu...what are you doing here?" She asked, surprised.

"I wanted to see if you were okay." He told her a she approached her slowly.

"What? Of course I'm alright." She responded crossing her arms. Natsu only stared at her. She felt his gaze on her and it made her a little uncomfortable. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Sorry...it's just that..."

"What?" Erza asked as she slowly started walking toward him. She stopped just in front of him. Before Natsu could say anything else, the door suddenly opened.

"Hey Erza!" Lucy exclaimed. "Oh and Natsu...what are you doing here?" She asked the Dragon Slayer.

"Oh nothing...what's up?" He asked, scratching the back of his head. Erza eyed him suspiciously before changing into her armor.

"There is a casino downstairs and I thought we should all go down there and play some games." Lucy answered. "Gray and Happy already went downstairs."

"I see...well I'm not really a gamble and I don't condone it...but I guess it's okay to let loose once in a while." Erza replied as she changed to a purple dress.

"Yeah! Seems like fun!" Natsu agreed. He walked toward the door and started making his way downstairs. Erza followed as Lucy decided to get dressed as well and headed to he room before joining the others.

* * *

><p>Natsu and the others enjoyed their time playing some of the games that the hotel provided for them. However, Natsu was more concerned on keeping an eye out for any of Erza's old friends as they were going to kidnap Erza. Natsu looked forward to see him and Happy already at another game. He smiled as he watched Happy try to shoot one of the moving targets with a fake gun.<p>

"Are you sure you can afford to spend your time...playing games?" Natsu's eyes widened at the familiar voice and slowly turned his head to see the hooded man behind him. Before Natsu could even react, the man's fist connected with his face, sending him flying through the game, through some slots and into the wall at the other end of the room.

"Natsu!" Happy cried out and then turned to growl at the man who attacked him. The hooded man smirked down at him before putting a finger to his lips and then started to fade away. Happy blinked in confusion as his body was no longer there. Happy wasn't sure what happened, but he forget about the attacker and grew wings to fly over to his best friend. "Natsu!"

* * *

><p>The sound of others screaming at what just happened caused Erza, Lucy, Gray and Juvia, who followed the group stand up and look over to the dust cloud at the other end of the room. "What happened?" Gray asked as he stood up from his seat. Suddenly, a large shadow cast over his and Juvia's body. He slowly started to turn his head when a hand smacked Juvia away from Gray. "Juvia!" He called out out and then glared at the attacker. "Who the fuck are you?"<p>

"You're Gray, I presume? Where is Erza?" The man asked.

"Hey! What do you think happened?" Lucy asked as she and Erza rose up from their seats to look at the dust cloud.

"How about we play another game...this time...with our lives?" Both Erza and Lucy turned around to see five cards with a letter on them and put together spelled death. Erza looked up to see who the card dealer was and her eyes widened as she recognized the face of someone she once knew. "How about it, Erza-neesan?"

"S-Sho..." Erza stuttered in disbelief.

"It's been a while, Nee-san." The young man said as Lucy turned her head back and forth between them.

"Sho...you...you were safe...?" She tried to put on a smile, but the man narrowed his eyes at her.

"Safe?"

"No...I just meant that..." Her voice wavered as Lucy couldn't believe she was looking at a side of Erza she never saw before.

"It has been a while, hasn't Erza?" Erza turned her head and her eyes widened as she saw another old friend.

"W-Wally..." Erza stuttered his name as well. He tipped his cube shaped hat before pointing a block shaped gun at her and Lucy.

"Erza...what's going on? Who are they?" Lucy asked, furrowing her eyebrows at the two. Suddenly, the lights went dark as both female members of Team Natsu. "What's going on now? A black out?" Lucy asked as she looked around, but saw nothing but darkness. Then the lights came back on. "The lights are back..." Lucy stated, but noticed that something was off. The people who were around them were gone. When she looked down, she saw cards on the floor and her eyes widened when she saw the same people who disappeared inside them. "What? How are they inside the cards?"

"Oh...don't you know that anything is possible with magic?" Sho smirked as some cards feel from his hands. Erza's eyes widened as she saw some of the people that were trapped inside trying desperately to get out.

"Y-You learned magic?"

"I'm not the only one..." Erza's eyes widened as she looked over at Wally and he smirked as well.

"Ahhh!" Lucy screamed as a rope wrapped around her neck and body. Erza turned around at her scream.

"Lucy!"

"What is this?" She asked, struggling to remove the rope. She was suddenly pulled backwards and hit against the bar.

"Meow! Super strong, ne?" Erza's eyes widened again as she saw another old friend.

"M-Millianna!? You can use magic too?"

"Long time no so Eru-chan!" Millianna exclaimed.

"Let her go, Millianna! Lucy's my friend!" Erza yelled at her.

"Friend?" She asked, putting a finger to her chin.

"Weren't we your friends, Nee-san?" Sho asked her.

'These people...are her friends?' Lucy wondered a she felt the whip tighten around her body.

"Ah...yeah..." Erza answered, her voice wavering again.

"That is...until you betrayed us." He told her venomously. Erza's closed her eyes tightly as she wrapped her arms around herself as memories of her younger days as a slave resurfaced in her mind. Just remembering those days made her feel weak. The hateful memories of herself and the others in that tower made her feel as if millions of small insects were crawling up her leg. She wanted to suppress those painful memories so much, but she knew no matter what, she would always remember those days, the faces of her friends and the face of one blue haired boy.

"Come on now Sho. Don't ruffle her feathers too much..." Wally spoke as he walked up to Erza, lowering his gun down to his side. "Dandy men know how to maintain their composure...all though I must say you turned out to be quite a looker there..." He smirked and took a drag of his cigar.

"No need to be awestruck..." Another voice was heard and then out of nowhere a large man appeared. "Once that guy gets his mitts on you, anyone would be able to use magic...right, Erza?" The large man looked up to eye her. Erza's eyes widened.

"S-Simon..." Millianna dropped Lucy to the floor as the rope tightened around her.

"Erza! Whoa re these guys? Why is he calling you, Nee-san?" Lucy asked despite her condition.

"He's not really my brother...they're my former nakama." She told her.

"Nakama! But I thought you were in Fairy Tail since you were a little girl?" Lucy screamed in shock.

"This was before then..." She bit her bottom lip. "...but why are you all here?"

"We came to bring you back..." Wally told her.

"Meow."

"Let's go back, Nee-san..." Sho told her as Erza clenched her fists.

"If you continue to insist..." Wally began and then pointed his gun at Lucy who shrieked in horror.

"Stop! I'm begging you!" She screamed. Wally smirked as his arm suddenly appeared behind her and he pulled the trigger. Erza gasped as she felt something hit her back. She didn't know what it was, but she suddenly started feeling drowsy. She then fell asleep as Simon caught the falling Erza.

"Erza!" Lucy screamed.

"Calm down...it's just my sleeping bullet." Wally told her.

"Capture complete...let's get going." Simon told the others and they nodded their heads.

"Hey wait! Where are you going with Erza?" Lucy shouted as she tried to break free.

"Meow." Millianna meowed as she made a circle motion with her finger and the rope tightened to the point that Lucy couldn't move anymore.

"Ahhh!" She screamed in pain.

"Another five minutes...and you'll be cat food..." Millianna told her as she started to walk away.

"Millianna...tie up Erza..." Sho told her and she saluted.

"Meow! On it!" She replied and wrapped her rope around Erza.

Sho smiled as tears started forming in the corner of his eyes. "Nee-san...you're finally coming back...to the Tower of Paradise...I bet Jellal will be smiling ear to ear..."

Lucy struggled to get out of the ropes as the mages who kidnap Erza were no longer in her sight. "Damn it..." Lucy cursed. She heard her keys hit the floor and took this opportunity to try and call out her Celestial Spirits. "Cancer! Open the...Gate!" She called out, but nothing happened. "W-What? Cancer!" She tried again, but it still didn't work. "W-Why...Taurus, Loke! Anyone!" She called out, but still nothing. She cringed at how much tighter the rope has gotten and it seemed to get only tighter the more she moved. 'Damn it...'

Suddenly, a shadow cast over her and he opened her eyes to see who it was. She grinned as she recognized the pink locks. "Natsu..." He knelt down and lit his finger with his flame and burned through the rope. Once he was able to free Lucy, he helped her up to her feet. "Thanks."

"No problem. Where is Erza?" He asked.

Lucy frowned and lowered her head. "They took her."

"Don't worry about it, Lucy. We'll get her back. Happy went to go see how Gray is doing. Come on, let's go meet up with them." He told her and she nodded her head in agreement. They ran off to find Gray and Happy and when they did, they saw Happy crying over what looked like broken ice.

"I...I broke Gray..." Happy cried.

"Eeeehhh!" Lucy screamed in shock.

"It's alright...Gray-sama is in Juvia's body..." The three turned their heads to see water rising and Juvia appearing. Gray came out of the water as he panted for air.

"I-In the body..." Lucy blushed a bit.

"Yes in my body...not yours..." Juvia glared at her as Lucy tried to calm her down.

"I remember...seeing you make a double of me when it became dark..." Gray told her as he started taking off her shirt.

"Hai! To avoid being discovered by the enemy, Juvia protect Gray-sama with water..." Juvia exclaimed as put her hand son her cheeks and became flustered.

"Yeah...too bad it wasn't necessary...you let him get away..." Gray told her which made her face falter to that of shock. Happy let out a cry as he flew toward Gray and hugged him.

"WAAAAH! I THOUGHT I BROKE YOU!"

"What? Calm down Happy...I'm fine..." Gray told him as he tried prying the Exceed off of him. When he was finally able to get Happy off of him, he looked up to see one member missing. "Where is Erza?"

"She was..." Lucy frowned and lowered her head again.

"She was taken by those guys who attacked us, right?" Natsu asked and she nodded her head.

"What!? Why?" Gray exclaimed.

"She said they were her old nakama...but I just don't get why they would kidnap her? None of this makes sense." Lucy explained.

'I know...but...why did he show up here? I know Zeref wants me to fight him, but to think he would make Jellal show up here...' Natsu scowled as he placed a hand to his cheek in the spot that he was hit by Jellal.

"Damn...so do we know where they took her?" Gray asked.

"Yeah...I know...I can smell Erza..." The others became silent at his statement. "What?"

"Creep..."

"What was that pervert?"

"Don't call me that! Then stop saying you smell a person like that, it just seems wrong!"

"Says the guy who strips!"

"Enough!" Lucy screamed and the two stopped fighting to look at her. "Just show us the way, Natsu." Lucy told him.

"Right...come on." The team nodded and started following Natsu out of the hotel.

* * *

><p>After sailing aimlessly for hours, the group were now staring up at a large tower, that from where they stood looked like it had no top. "Such a tall tower..." Lucy looked up in awe.<p>

"Aye..."

"Yeah..." Gray agreed as the team waited for Juvia to return to see if there was any entrance to the tower underwater. Natsu stared up at the tower, but for a different reason. He could sense his magic. That evil dark magic that made him sick to his stomach. The same magic that killed all of his friends. However, this time he wasn't going to let that happen.

"Juvia has found an entrance." Juvia spoke as she resurfaced.

"Really!? That's great!" Gray exclaimed.

"Gray-sama complimented me not you." Juvia said to Lucy as she sweat dropped.

"R-Right..."

"It's a bit of a swim, but if you can hold your breaths for at least ten minutes, you should be fine." She told them.

"Aa, no problem." Both Gray and Natsu responded.

"No it isn't!" Lucy and Happy yelled.

"Then, take these." Juvia created bubbles of air like she did in their previous adventure.

"Oh, perfect!" Lucy exclaimed and took one to put it over her head. The others did the same and then dived into the water. When they resurfaced, they arrived in the basement of the tower. Lucy started to twist her wet clothing to remove the water as the others looked around. "Erza and Happy must be somewhere here."

"Aye!"

"Hey, who are you?" The team all froze in place as they looked up to see guards spotting them.

"Ah crap...even after we snuck in..." Gray cursed.

"Hold it right the-" One of the guards began, but stopped when Natsu suddenly punched the scaffolding they were standing on, causing it to collapse. His flames then started to circle around the area, engulfing any guards that were unfortunate to get caught. The others blinked in surprise at his actions.

"Looks like we won't be able to sneak around anymore." He told them. "Come on, let's go." They all stayed in place for a few seconds before shaking off their shock and ran after Natsu, attacking any guards that stood in their way. 'I have to get to Jellal...I don't know why, but I have a bad feeling about something...' Natsu thought as he punched a guard away as Lucy fought off some more guards with her spirits. Juvia and Gray did the same. Happy flew up to the air to give them an aerial view of battle field and warn them if any guards wanted to do some sort of sneak attack. He also fended off a few.

When they managed to defeat them all, a door opened up and they all looked up. "That door just opened..."

"Yeah...I'm sure they are telling us to come up..." Natsu said. "Let's go!" They all agreed and started climbing up the ladder.

When they entered the floor above them, they saw that it was empty. "Looks like no one is here." Happy stated.

"Yeah...but don't let your guard down..." Natsu told them.

"He's right..." Juvia agreed. "This door opened itself, right? Someone must have done somewhere in the tower. It's possible that we may have been detected a while ago."

'Of course we were...' Natsu thought as he sat down and started to meditate. 'I have to build up my magic...'

"Oi, flame brain! This isn't no time to do that meditation crap!" Gray shouted at him. Natsu didn't respond, which made him growl in anger. "You..."

"By the way, Lucy...what's with the clothing?" Happy asked.

"Oh this...I asked Cancer to bring me some clothes from the Celestial Spirit plane. It was going to be hard to move with wet clothes so I changed." Lucy told him as she spun around to show off her clothing.

"Found them! The intruders!" They turned their heads to see more guards heading in their direction.

"Damn these guys are persistent!" Gray scowled.

"Uwaaah!" Their eyes widened in shock as the guards were all being attacked by someone from behind them.

"It's Erza!" Happy exclaimed in joy as Erza defeated all the guards. She heard Happy's voice and turned her head to look at the group in shock.

"You're okay!" Lucy exclaimed in joy a swell.

"W-What...what are you guys...doing here?"

"Why? It's to rescue you!" Gray told her.

"Go back." She suddenly said making everyone gasp.

"W-What?"

"You guys...shouldn't be here..."

"What are you saying, Erza?" Lucy asked her in disbelief.

"Just shut up and leave..." She raised her sword and pointed her sword at her. "Please..." They were shocked to see Erza like this. Her entire body was shaking as if she was afraid of something. They never saw her like this. They didn't like it.

"No...we can't do that! We can't leave without you!" Lucy fired.

"Please!" Erza screamed. "Just...go back...I'll handle everything...this is my fight...i don't want to involve you guys any further..."

"Sorry...but we're already gotten involved..." Gray told her. Erza didn't say anything and just stood in the same spot. Her scarlet colored hair hid her face from their views.

"Erza...just what exactly is this tower...and who is this Jellal person?" Lucy asked. She didn't say anything. "It's okay if you don't want to tell us...but...those guys said you were they're comrade...but we're your friends now...and...we'll always be there for you..." Lucy smiled warmly at the woman who she idolized.

"G-Go back..." Erza repeated, but this time with a shaky voice.

"Oh man, this really isn't like you at all. Why don't you just stop with all this bull shit and tell us to go with you like you always do. We will help you no matter what, Erza. It's okay to be scared once in a while." He placed a hand on her shoulder. When he did, she looked up and his eyes widened as she saw tears in her eye. "E-Erza..."

"Erza..." Happy frowned.

"I'm sorry..." She apologized and wiped the tears away. "This fight...whether we win or lose...I'm going to be gone from the public..."

"Oi, what the hell does that mean?" Gray asked.

"This is my fate...this is something only I can do..." She clenched her sword tightly.

"Don't give me that fate crap..." Everyone gasped as they turned around to see Natsu on his feet, glaring at her. "I don't want to hear anything about this is so called 'it being your fate' or 'destiny'. I don't want to hear you say anything as if you plan on dying here...I'm going to help you whether you like it or not...if you want to stop me then go ahead and try...I'm heading to the top of the tower to meet this Jellal guy...and then I'll kick his ass..." Erza's eyes widened at his words and for some reason, froze in place as he walked past her and headed toward the stairs.

"Wait for me, Natsu!" Happy grew wings and flew after him.

"Oi!" Gray called out after him. "That guy..."

Erza suddenly collapsed to her knees. "Erza!" Lucy screamed as she ran over to her. Lucy looked at Erza to see if she was okay, but saw that she was crying again. "Erza..."

'Why...why am I crying? Why is it that I feel this way?' Erza wondered. 'Natsu...why are you doing this? Natsu...please...don't die on me...' Erza wiped her tears away and stood up.

"Erza..." Lucy looked at her in worry.

"I'm okay...since I'm here...I might as well tell you about this place..."

* * *

><p>"It seems the Salamander has ran off without his friends...what should we do about him, Jellal-sama?"<p>

"Simple...show him the way to the top..."

"But Jellal-sama..."

"I said do it!"

"R-Right..."

* * *

><p>Natsu ran as fast as he could. 'I have to get to Jellal as fast as I can...' Natsu thought and continued to think that as he ran up the stairs. He no longer heard Happy's voice as he was running way too fast for his friend to catch up to him. He couldn't let his friend get involved. As he reached the top of the stairs, he entered a room and saw instantly that he was already ta the top. 'What the...? I'm sure I couldn't have gotten up here that fast...'<p>

"Welcome...Natsu..." Natsu's eyes widened and he gasped as he turned his head to see Jellal looking at him through his hooded cloak.

"You..." He growled as Zeref appeared behind Jellal.

'It is time...Natsu...' Zeref told him. 'Let me see how strong you have become...'

"How did I get here so quickly...something isn't right..."

"I see you noticed that..." Jellal spoke. "Don't worry, nothing happened...I just made it sure that you and I meet up here as quickly as we can so that we can begin our fight..." He took off his hooded cloak to reveal himself. Zeref appeared once again behind Jellal.

"I see...so you couldn't wait either..." Natsu smirked as he ignited his fists.

"Of course..." Jellal smirked as both of them disappeared before punching each others fists in the middle of the room.

* * *

><p>"But I don't know who to believe anymore!" Sho cried as he grabbed his hair and clenched it tightly. After telling the others about what happened, Sho and Simon appeared. Sho became conflicted over who to believe between Erza and Jellal, while Simon revealed that he wanted to stop Jellal and whatever it was that he was planning.<p>

"I know it's hard to accept everything right now. But let me just say a a few words. In these eight years...I never forgot about you guys. I couldn't do anything...I was too weak...I'm sorry." She apologized and pulled him to a hug.

"But you're ready now, right?" Simon asked her. She looked up at him and nodded her head, showing him a determined expression on her face. Simon smiled. "I've been waiting for this day. Now that all of these powerful mages are gathered in one place."

"Powerful mages?" Lucy whispered. 'Am I included?'

"We'll fight Jellal...with our combined strength!" They all nodded their head in agreement. "By the way, where is the Salamander?" They all looked at each other and suddenly remembered what he said.

"Oh no!" Erza panicked. "He went up to fight-" She couldn't finish that sentence as a loud boom and very violent shaking erupted through the tower.

"W-What is this?" Lucy asked, trying to keep her balance.

"This magic..." Erza realized. "Natsu...is fighting Jellal..."

"Ehhhh!?"

**To Be Continued...**

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes<strong>: I'm sorry for ending it there, but I just want the next chapter to be about Natsu's fight with Jellal/Zeref. I'm going to be excited writing that chapter so hopefully I can get it out with 1-2 weeks. On another note, I know I promised to write two chapters before the anniversary, but stuff happened like my computer completely getting destroyed and it was a while before I got a new one. Also school began so I was preoccupied with that also.

Sorry if the chapter seems a but fast pace. Since I decided to not just copy the dialogue from the manga and waste energy doing so, I quickened it by not including any meaningless dialogue, since I presume everyone read the manga or watched the anime up to this point. I hope it's alright with everyone!

**HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY FOR TIME IS THE PATH TO STRENGTH!**

I want to thank everyone who has been behind my story since the beginning and hope you continue reading as I don't plan on stopping writing possibly my most successful fanfiction to date. Thank you all!

Ja Ne!


	23. Natsu and Zeref Round Three

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related which includes the characters of Fairy Tail.

**Rated M! You have been warned!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 23: Natsu and Zeref Round Three<strong>

"Natsu! Where did you go!?" Happy shouted as he flew down a long corridor. He stopped and descended to the floor, making his wings disappear. "That's strange...I wonder where he went." Happy started walking. "Hm?" Happy stopped and looked up to see a woman standing in front of him. "...Cat?"

"Kyaaaaaaa!" Millianna squealed and rushed over to the blue furred Exceed, pulling him into a hug. "Such a cute kitty!"

"C-Can't...breathe..." Happy managed to breathe to from the tight grip she had on him.

"Oh...I'm so sorry kitty..." She loosened up on the hug. "But you're so cute...I got to take you back to my room..." She turned around and started skipping away with Happy in her arms.

"Someone! Help me!" Happy cried as he tried to get away from her, but couldn't.

"I can't wait for you to see my entire kitty collection..."

"HELP ME!"

* * *

><p>Natsu and Jellal clashed fists once again as it caused a large shock wave that reached each corner of the room. Cracks were seen on all the walls that surrounded the room. The two skidded to a stop on each side of the room and smirked at each other, before they started a barrage of fists at each other. Their fists either connected with the other or blocked by another body part, but neither slowed down. They both knew that whoever fists connected strongly first, would gain the early advantage in the fight and both were not going to let that happen.<p>

Soon enough, kicks were added into the assaults. Natsu almost had connected with a kick to the head, but Jellal quickly pulled his head back. Jellal however, lifted his right leg and tried to kick Natsu in the chin, but the Dragon Slayer blocked the attack with his hands. Natsu was lifted into the air by the attack as Jellal placed his hands on the ground and then used them to push up like a spring and deliver a powerful kick that made Natsu's hands break apart.

"Crap..." Jellal smirked and attack with his other leg. Natsu was hit in the face with Jellal's boot and crashed into the floor hard. Jellal landed on the ground, but then quickly ran at Natsu as he was getting up and slammed his fist into his gut. Natsu spat out saliva as he was sent flying into the wall.

"Hmph...looks like I have taken the lead...Natsu..." Jellal said as Zeref appeared as an image behind him.

"Heh..." Natsu jumped out of the wall and landed a few feet away from Jellal with a smirk on his face. "Maybe so...but let's see who has the edge at the end of this fight!" Natsu replied and ignited his fists into the golden flames. "Flames of Rebuke!" The golden flames surrounded Natsu as his smirk widened.

"Yes...let's just see who wind sup victorious!" Jellal made his entire body surround by his magic and using his magic increased his speed. Natsu barely had time to see Jellal appear in front of him, but still was able to duck under the kick he tried to deal to the side of his head. Clenching his fists tightly, the flames expanded and Natsu tried to punch Jellal, but the blue haired man crossed his arms in front of him. Natsu punched the man's forearms with enough force that it pushed him a few feet back. Jellal groaned at the pain he felt in his forearms, but Natsu wasn't going to let him rest for a second. He charged at him, clenched his fist once more and punched Jellal in the face. Jellal hit the ground hard several times before flipping onto to his feet and sliding to a stop. "Not bad...Natsu..."

"There is more where that came from!" He yelled and used the flames on his feet as thrusters to get to Jellal faster than he could stand up. Jellal noticed this beforehand and raised his arm to shoot out a beam of magic at him. Natsu dodged the beam as it created an explosion behind him. He then punched Jellal in the face again. Jellal however, wasn't sent flying as he grabbed Natsu's wrist, turned his body and then slammed his elbow onto Natsu's back. "Gah!" Natsu mouthed out as he slammed hard onto the floor. Jellal placed his hands together and tried to slam his combined hands down hard on him, but Natsu rolled out of the way as Jellal hit the floor, creating a small little crater.

Natsu got on his feet and then pushed on his legs forward to punch Jellal again. Jellal blocked the attack with his hands. Unfortunately, the punch was much harder than previously and caused Jellal to stagger a bit, making way for a spin around flaming kick from the Salamander. Jellal crashed onto the floor and his body slid all the way to the wall, crashing into it. Natsu panted as he stood up on his feet and glared at the hole his opponent laid in. His eyes widened suddenly when he saw a large sphere of Heavenly Magic heading toward him. With no time to evade, Natsu raised his arms, ignited them, and reduce the damage done by the spell. The attack, did however push him back all the way to the other side of the room and exploded when it made contact with it.

Jellal walked out of the hole he was in and smirked. "Come on now, Natsu. Is that all your flames can do to me?"

"Fire Dragon's Roar!" A large line of golden red flames came out of the hole on the opposite side of the room. Jellal raised his arm and launched a beam of Heavenly Magic at the flames. The two attacks collided in the middle of the room, causing an explosion that made Jellal brace himself from flying away. When the wind settled down, Jellal raised his head and saw nothing but smoke from the explosion.

"W-Where is he?" He wondered as he looked around for the Dragon Slayer.

"Lightning Flame Dragon's..." Jellal's eyes widened as Natsu appeared on the opposite side he was looking at and turned his head in time to get punched by an attack that was combined with both fire and lightning. "...FIST!" Natsu roared as Jellal spat out blood and crashed hard into the wall causing a large crack to appear all the way up to the roof. "Heh...how about that?" Natsu smirked.

The sound of some debris falling was heard as Jellal stood up and walked out of the hole. He raised his head up and smirked back. "It seems you have gotten stronger than your previous self..." He wiped the trail of blood on the corner of his mouth with his hand. "...but...it would take more than that to defeat me."

"You didn't have to tell me that!" Natsu roared and ignited his entire body with his lightning flames and then put his hands in front of his mouth. "Lightning Flame Dragon's...Roar!" Jellal smirked at the upcoming attack, raised his arm, it glowing with his Heavenly Magic, and simply swatted it away. The attack pierced through the wall and continued it's destructive path outside. Natsu's eyes were wide in shock.

"Come on now...did you really think I wouldn't increase my strength not that I know the strength level of your Lightning Flame?" Jellal's smirk widened.

"Shut up!" Natsu charged at him. He jumped and ignited one of his hands with his flames and the other with lightning. He combined his hands above his head. "Lightning Flame Dragon's Brilliant Flame!" He slammed his hands down as a large semi-sphere of fire and lightning erupted where Jellal stood. Natsu gritted his teeth as the attack created a powerful explosion. Natsu landed on the ground and stared at the smoke for any sign of Jellal.

"I..." Natsu's eyes widened as Jellal somehow appeared in front of Natsu and kicked him in the stomach. "...won't..." He followed up with a punch to the face. "...be beaten..." Another punch, this time tot he opposite side. "...by magic..." He spun around. "...at this level!" He then kicked Natsu away so that he crashed into and through the wall. He spat out blood as he landed on the hard surface of a ledge that stuck out of the tower. He coughed out some blood as he felt his insides burn.

'Shit...that hurt like hell...' He took in several deep breaths. He opened his eyes and looked up. 'That's right...those geezers are supposed to fire Etherion soon...' He groaned as he turned around to his front. He lifted himself up onto one leg and then the other. He staggered a bit, still feeling shell shocked from the kick. He took one final deep breath before turning around and jumping up to the hole he went through. When he did, his eyes widened as he saw Erza in the room, pointing one of her swords at Jellal.

"Jellal!" She screamed as she glared at him.

"My, my...it's good to see you too, Erza. Look how you turned out after all these years." He smirked.

"Shut up!" She yelled. "I won't forgive you for what you did to Sho and the others!"

"Me? Why I didn't do anything? It was their choice to follow me."

"That's a lie!" She retorted. "You tricked them...deceived them...you told them nothing but lies!"

"Oh...have I now? Now that you mention it...I guess I have..."

"You..." She gritted her teeth in anger and clenched her sword tightly. "Where's Natsu?"

"Oh? Why would you ask me about him?"

"Because I know you and Natsu have been fighting...where is he?"

"I'm right here." Erza gasped at the sudden voice and turned her head to see Natsu walking over to her, wiping blood that trailed down the corner of his mouth. Erza scanned his body and saw that he was dirty and bruised, but other than that, fine. She let out a sigh of relief. Jellal smirked. He raised his hand and shot a beam of Heavenly Magic at Erza. "Watch out!" Natsu screamed and rushed over to her. He pushed her out of the way as the beam hit him.

Erza rolled on the ground until she came to a stop and panicked as she saw smoke coming out of the wall. "Natsu!" She screamed.

"Hahahahaha! The fool..." Jellal laughed. Erza glared over at the man who she admired during her days as a slave.

"You!" She screamed and charged at him, swinging her sword. Jellal evaded her sword with ease before grabbing it and then kicking her in the gut. Erza coughed up blood from the powerful kick as she lost her grip on her sword. She fell to her knees and held her stomach.

"You really have become such a strong woman, Erza...but you see...I'm no longer the Jellal you knew..." He smirked as he examined her sword. "...I'm stronger than you could ever imagine...and..." He stopped and his smirk grew. "...it seems the old fools are going to fire the Etherion in three minutes..."

Erza's eyes widened. "W-What!?"

"Hahahaha! Don't sound so surprised, Erza. Did you really forget what this tower was originally for?"

"Of course I didn't..." She yelled.

"Then it shouldn't be a surprise that the old fools will fire Etherion to stop it..." Jellal told her. "That is what is wrong with this world...old fools who do not know anything and yet they have the power to make the decisions...and because of that they are going to fire Etherion and possibly kill anyone near this tower..."

"You're wrong...the others...they're already on a ship away from this tower..." Erza shouted.

"Hahahaha! Do you think that will save them? You underestimate the power of Etherion, Erza. It doesn't matter how far they get in three minutes...they will still die..." Jellal told her. "All of us will be sacrifices for Zeref!" Erza looked at him in horror.

"Y-You monster..." Erza couldn't believe what she was hearing. This was definitely not the same Jellal she knew as a kid. This man, that she sees right before her, was a monster. "You monster!" She screamed and ran at him. Seeing how Jellal had her sword, the only thing she thought about doing was punching him, completely forgetting about the fact that she could have re-equipped into a different armor. Jellal easily avoided a right hook and then kneed her in the gut before grabbing her neck, raising her up in the air. "You..."

"You shouldn't let your emotions run wild...Erza...otherwise you'll get yourself killed..."

* * *

><p>Suddenly a bright light appeared above the tower, high in the sky. After rescuing Happy and then getting everyone on board the ship they were able to sail away at a fair distance from the tower. Lucy, Juvia and Gray were unconscious from their battles as Happy, Sho, Millianna and Wally looked at the sky. "I can't believe they are actually firing the Etherion!"<p>

"Myaaa!"

"Nee-san..."

"Erza...Natsu...you got to get out of there..." Happy cried as he looked on with tears stinging his eyes.

* * *

><p>Erza gritted her teeth as she glared at Jellal. "You...m-monster..."<p>

"Looks like Etherion will fire soon..." Then to Erza's surprise, Jellal smiled. Not smirked, but smiled. The smile that she remembered when they were younger. He let go of her neck and she fell to the floor, gasping for air. "Erza..." She heard him whisper her name in a gentle voice. She looked up and her eyes widened when he suddenly got down and pulled her to a hug. "If this is really the end...then let me stay like this...please..." Erza didn't know what to say. She couldn't even move. She was that shocked. All she could do was close her eyes and wrap her arms around Jellal as Etherion was shot down toward the tower.

* * *

><p>The ship the others were on was destroyed by the waves that resulted from the large blast. The three that were unconscious woke up as soon as water hit them. They weren't sure what was going on, but as soon as they noticed they were underwater, they immediately swam up to resurface for some much needed air. "W-What's going on?" Lucy asked as she was forced back under due to the waves. The waves continued to thrash around as the impact of Etherion was very powerful. Juvia managed to create a large water bubble that she made sure everyone was in it.<p>

Gray's eyes widened as he realized what happened and couldn't help but mumble, "Etherion..."

When the water settled down, everyone couldn't help but stare wide eyed at the large smoke coming from where the tower stood. "Natsu...Erza..." Happy whined as he feared for his friends.

"Simon..." Wally mumbled as Millianna and Sho looked on with the others.

* * *

><p>Erza began to open her eyes and the first thing she noticed was that she was alive. "W-What? We're alive...but how...?" She asked looking around to see the walls of the room they were once in start to crumble.<p>

"Hehehe..." She heard the man in front of her start to chuckle.

"J-Jellal...?" She blinked at him as he stood up and went to a full blown laugh.

"Hahahahaha!"

* * *

><p>Everyone who was outside were in shock. As the wind blew the smoke away, there stood the tower, but this time it was made not of metal, but what looked like crystals. "W-What...?" Juvia spoke.<p>

"The tower...the outside walls crumbled...leaving some kind of crystal?" Gray observed.

"Hey...they're alright, right? Natsu, Erza and that Simon guy..." Lucy wondered as she felt a tug in her chest. She placed a hand to her chest and clenched it.

* * *

><p>"Hahahaha! Finally! The time has come!" He shouted.<p>

"You...what did you...?" Erza looked at him with wide eyes.

"Surprised, Erza? This...is the true form of the Tower of Paradise...a gigantic pillar of Lacrima..." Jellal told her. "...and through the power of the Council's Etherion..." He raised his arms up. "...I have succeeded in gathering two billion, seven hundred million sources of magical energy!" Hey yelled as if he was screaming to the heavens. "The R-System is finally complete!"

"Y-You...you tricked me..." Erza growled at him.

"Tricked you...? I did no such thing...maybe you shouldn't think about past memories as if I returned to that old kid self..." He told her as Erza gasped and stared at him wide eyed.

"He's right you know, Erza." Erza heard a voice behind and quickly spun around.

"W-What!?" Her eyes widened even further as she saw Siegrain staring at her.

"You see...neither me nor Jellal had the power to complete the R-System...so I made sure those fools over at the council trust me and eventually use the Etherion...it was pretty easy if you ask me..." He told her.

"W-What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Come now Erza...think back, to when we first met...you thought I was Jellal and attacked me, but I don't blame you since we do look alike. When I finally got you to settle down...I told you that I was his twin brother...but you still didn't stop suspecting me..."

"Why the hell shouldn't I? You are his big brother and yet you did nothing to stop him! Worse, you were keeping watch over me, for him!" Erza yelled.

"You're right, I should have told you something like, 'I will find Jellal and kill him, without fail' or something like that." He responded. "However, meeting you was something I never planned on doing after I became a member of the Council."

"Having to come up with an excuse on the spot isn't easy." Jellal added as Siegrain now stood next to him.

"I knew it...you two were in on this together..." She glared at them.

"Oh? Do you really still think that? Come on Erza...you're smarter than that...the two of us are one and the same...we always were..." Erza's eyes widened even further as Siegrain's body started to disappear.

"N-No...you can't be...A Psychic Projection!"

"Hahaha, yes. Sieg is me, plain and simple." Siegrain's body vanished as it appeared to have fused with Jellal.

"I-Impossible!" Erza yelled. "Then that means that you fired Etherion on your own body! You;re telling me that's why you wormed your way into the Council!?"

"I hope you enjoyed your freedom...Erza. Zeref will soon be resurrected and you will become the sacrifice needed for it."

"You...how many people do you plan on deceiving!?"

"Hahahaha! My power...has returned." He raised his hand and then shot a beam of Heavenly Magic at her. Erza's eyes widened and she didn't have time to dodge as the beam hit her. She spat out blood as she rolled on the Lacrima until she came to a stop at a large crystal. She groaned from the pain and struggled to lift herself up. "Yes...you would make a wonderful sacrifice for Zeref..." He told her as he started walking over to her.

"Damn it..." She growled as she looked up to see Jellal walking over to her through her blurry vision. She knew she had to fight back. She got made it to her feet and was prepared to draw out on of her swords, but suddenly couldn't make her arm move. 'What the...?' She looked at her arm and saw a binding spell placed on her.

"Surprised? It's a spell I placed on you when we hugged." Jellal told her as she looked at him with wide eyes. The spell suddenly made it's way all around her body, making her completely immobile. Jellal stopped in front of her. "It's such a pity...someone as strong as you to feel so helpless at the moment." He told her as Erza started to cry through one of her eyes. "Please don't cry Erza...I'm sure that Zeref doesn't want to be reborn after knowing that his sacrifice cried..."

"Damn you!" She yelled.

"Oh...it seems we have a guest." Jellal suddenly said and turned around to see Simon standing on the other side, glaring at Jellal.

"S-Simon..." Erza whispered as she stared at her old friend.

"Jellal..." He growled. "Let her go!"

"Should you really ask me such a request, even after all we've been through." Jellal responded.

"Don't give me that crap! I knew your plan all along!" He yelled.

"Oh?"

"Let go of Erza!" He yelled again. Jellal smirked.

"Alright then..." Erza gasped as he grabbed her arm and then flung her at Simon. Simon caught her and slid back a few feet because of the strength of the throw.

"Erza! Are you okay?" He asked her. She nodded.

"Yeah..." She looked at him and gave him a warm smile. She then frowned and looked at Jellal. 'Why did he do that?'

"From the look on your face...I'm guessing you're wondering why I handed you over...well the answer is simple really..." He smirked and then raised his arms and crossed them over his head. Suddenly, a small orb of black magic formed above his hands. Erza's eyes widened as she could sensed the power of the technique he was about to use. She looked down and noticed that her shadow and Simon's shadow were drawn toward Jellal. She looked back up and the orb was quickly becoming bigger and bigger.

"Simon! You need to...get out of here..." She told him as he looked down at her. "You...have to get out of here...that spell...it's too dangerous..." Simon looked at her and then back at Jellal.

"...hahahahaha!" Jellal laughed. "It's too late to run anywhere! You were wondering why I returned you to him, well the answer is, like I said, simple...it's because I don't need you..." Erza's eyes widened. "It's true that you as a sacrifice will be enough to bring back Zeref...but...there is someone else in this tower who is even more suited for being a sacrifice!" Erza's eyes widened even further, but she had an expression of horror on her face.

"No...no!" She yelled. "Leave Natsu out of this! This is between you and me!" She desperately cried.

"Hahahaha! It's too late, Erza!" He laughed as a small white light appeared inside the dark ball of magic. "Goodbye! Altairis!" He launched Altairis at the two.

"No!" Erza cried. She was then suddenly dropped to the ground and watched with wide eyes as Simon walked in front of her body and raised his arms as if he planned to shield the attack. "Simon!" She yelled as aloud as she could as a sudden explosion occurred in front of her. She closed her eyes to prevent dust getting into her eyes. Once she was able to clear them, she snapped them open and look forward. "Simon!" She cried as she saw the large body of her friend. For a few moments, he didn't move and Erza feared the worst. She then heard a grunt noise.

"S-S-Salamander..." Erza's eyes widened as she looked past Simon and saw Natsu standing in front of Simon, his arms up just like Simon had. However, the big difference was that both his arms transformed into his dragon arms and from what she could see, his chest also slightly transformed.

"So...you finally returned...what took you so long?" Jellal asked, smirking.

Natsu grunted and fell to one knee as blood fell from his chest. "Natsu!" Erza screamed.

'Damn...even though my Dragon Metamorphosis took most of the damage...this guy...' Natsu raised his head and glared at Jellal as Zeref's image appeared behind him. 'You...I told you...as long as I'm around...I won't let any of my friends be killed!'

'Are you sure, Natsu? I mean, his death was an important part of-'

'Shut up! I told you before, if you want to change the past, then I will do it too and I will make sure that none of my friends get killed'

'Very well then...but...don't blame me if they get killed. It would be your own fault.'

'Shut up!'

"Natsu..." Erza cried out when he didn't respond to her. Natsu took a deep breath and then stood up.

"Simon...take Erza and go to the others...I'll deal with Jellal."

"Salamander..."

"What are you saying!?" Erza screamed. "I'm not leaving without you!"

"Erza...I promise you that I'll save Jellal...I won't let him revive Zeref...I will make sure to bring him back with me..." Natsu told her.

"Natsu..."

"Simon...please..." Natsu pleaded with the larger man. Simon eventually nodded and walked over to Erza and picked her up.

"No! Let me go!" Erza shouted, but because of the seal placed on her, she couldn't move.

"Thank you..." Natsu said as he heard the sound of Simon footsteps and Erza's screaming fading away. He smiled before glaring at Jellal.

"You do know that if you lose, I'll kill them anyway no matter how far they go..." Jellal told him.

"Then I won't lose!" Natsu roared and charged at Jellal with lightning speed that made even Zeref surprised. Natsu struck Jellal in the face with a strong right hook from his Dragon arm. Jellal's body slammed into the crystals of the tower. Natsu stopped just in front of the crystal and started throwing punches after punches. The crystal was getting destroyed by each and every strong punch from Natsu's Dragon arms, some connecting with Jellal's body. "Wraaaaaahhhhh!" Natsu roared throughout. He then pulled his right arm back. "Arm of the Salamander: Flaming Dragon Strike!" A large blast of fire magic shot out from his arm and causing a large explosion that was seen by the spectators outside. "How about that?" Natsu panted as he was exhausted from exerting so much energy from the punches and using a lot of his magic.

The smoke from the explosion was the only thing he could see from where he assumed Jellal was. He knew very well that there was no way the fight was over. He knew Zeref was watching him and knew about the strength of his Flaming Dragon Strike. The question was, was Jellal's body okay?

The sound of crystal clanging against the lacrima was suddenly heard as Natsu braced himself for whatever it was that was coming. "Not bad...but..." Natsu's eyes widened when he was suddenly punched by Jellal in the wound that he afflicted earlier. Natsu was stunned at how fast Jellal moved and the fact that he couldn't see him. "...it will take more than that." Jellal then followed it be a kick to the face and then a beam of Heavenly Magic that sent Natsu up into the lacrima above them. Jellal jumped and then kneed him deeper into the crystal. Natsu spat out blood from the impact. Jellal grabbed a crystal that was sticking out and hung from it as he smirked. "What's wrong? Is that all you got?" Natsu coughed as his body started to fall down. Jellal's smirk widened as he let go of the crystal and then kicked Natsu straight down to the lacrima, through it and down a level. "Hahahahahaha! I can't believe this is your power! I don't even have to use fifty percent of my power to defeat you!"

"Shut up..." Natsu thrust back up and slammed his body into his as he pushed through the lacrima and to the next level above them. The two separated and Natsu placed his hands in front of his mouth. "Mouth of the Salamander: Dragon Roar Strike!" He shouted and blew out a large beam of fire magic that struck Jellal. The blast pierced through the lacrima and down onto the next level where it caused a large explosion. Natsu panted as he dropped down to the lacrima and looked down from the hole he created with his attack.

"Meteor." Natsu's eyes widened as he suddenly felt himself getting punched in the face and then another strike and several more as it felt like only a second passed. He spat out blood while Jellal continued firing strikes so rapidly that Natsu couldn't keep up with them. He felt pain throughout his body from all the strikes and when Jellal delivered one final kick to the gut, Natsu was sent flying to a large lacrima crystal.

"Gah!" Natsu screamed in pain as he was pierced in the hip with one of the sharp crystals that stuck out from the lacrima. He fell to the floor. He grabbed the crystal stuck in his hip and pulled it out. He let out a scream when he did so and then tossed the crystal away. He panted and then raised his head to looked at Jellal and his eyes widened when he saw him about to unleash another attack.

"Grand Chariot!" Jellal shouted as the seals he cast connected to make a constellation. The same pattern was created under Natsu before a powerful blast engulfed his body. A scream was heard as a large explosion erupted from the attack. When the smoke cleared, Natsu was laying on the lacrima, his body bruised from the attack. "Is this really all that you have Natsu...I'm disappointed." He shook his head in dissatisfaction. "I'm only using 40% of my magic...not even close to the 50% I told you I was going to use..."

"Shut...up..." Jellal narrowed his eyes as Natsu was raising himself up with his arms. He raised his head and then glared at Jellal. "I am so fucking tired of hearing your voice..." He commented as he got up on one leg. "...you are so fucking annoying..." He smirked as he got back up to his feet.

"You..." Jellal growled. He raised his arm and a small orb of magic started forming in the palm of his hand. "Dark beam!" Natsu's eyes widened as a black beam shot out of his hand and at Natsu. Having little time to react, Natsu clenched his fist and then punched the beam with his dragon arm.

"Waaaaaahhhhh!" Natsu roared as he tried punching the beam back, but eventually the force between the two attacks caused an explosion that sent Natsu rolling on the lacrima. He did however, quickly get back on his feet, just in time as Jellal tried striking him again. Natsu looked in his direction and saw him smirk while starting to move his fist toward Natsu's face. However, just before it connect, something wrapped around Jellal's arm, stopping his attack.

"W-What the...?"

"Tail of the Salamander..." Natsu smirked as he now had a tail.

"You..." Jellal growled as the tail wrapped around his arm tightly. He was then lifted up in the air and then slammed down to the lacrima very hard. Natsu then got on top of him and raised his fist as high as he could before slamming it down on Jellal's gut. He spat out blood from the impact as the lacrima around him cracked. Natsu knew it would take more than that attack to defeat him. So he started to throwing strike after strike, digging him deeper into the lacrima. Jellal got tired of being a punching bag and grabbed Natsu's hand and then flipped him off of him. Natsu however landed on his feet as he saw Jellal getting up on his feet, clenching his stomach.

"Hurts...doesn't it..." Natsu smirked as he wiped blood from the corner of his mouth.

"Bastard..."

* * *

><p>"Let me go!" Erza screamed at Simon as he ignored her the best he could and continued to run. "Simon! I have to go back! This is my fight!"<p>

"Erza!" He suddenly raised his voice, making Erza stop and look at him with slightly widened eyes. "I know how you feel, but as Jellal is right now, nothing you do can help him. Salamander might be the only one who can get through to him." He told her. "I have faith in Natsu, so you should too."

Erza gasped and narrowed his eyes. She felt so useless. This was supposed to be her fight. She was supposed to stop Jellal, but she couldn't do it. She was still too weak. She let her own emotions get in her way and because of that, Natsu was now fighting her battle. She knew Natsu was strong, stronger than her, but she couldn't help but worry. Jellal was strong, stronger than she had ever imagined. She knew Natsu was probably the only one can stand up to him, but knowing the Dragon slayer, he would do anything to win. That was made her the most afraid. She was scared that he would go too far and slowly start to kill himself by using the Dragon Metamorphosis technique.

Simon wasn't sure how far he gotten down the tower, but since the shakes from the fight he assumed Natsu and Jellal were having became less and less violent, he figured he must have gotten down a long distance. He didn't know why he had faith in Natsu, but when he saw him standing in front of him, he immediately knew he could trust him with the task of saving Jellal and saving Erza's precious smile that he loved to see when they were kids. "The seal..." He heard the scarlet hair colored beauty in his arms said and he looked down to see the seal slowly disappearing. "...it's gone."

"We must have gotten far enough away from Jellal that the seal weakened. Either that or..." Simon hoped it was the latter as it would mean that Natsu defeated Jellal.

"I see..." Erza whispered. "I'm sorry...Simon..." He made a noise in surprise and looked down at her before he was met with her knee. He fell down on his back. Erza landed on the lacrima and looked back at him with an apologetic smile. She then tried to run off, but Simon recovered and grabbed her leg, making her fall down. "Let me go!" She screamed.

"I can't let you go back, Erza!" He yelled.

"Simon! I have to go back!" She retorted. "I know you said to put my faith in Natsu...but...but..." She clenched her hands tightly. "...what if he dies...then I couldn't help but blame myself..." She cried as she felt a tear run down her cheek.

"Erza..." He said her name.

"I'm sorry! I have to go!" She tried getting up, but Simon wasn't going to let her go anywhere. He got up on his feet and turned Erza onto her back, grabbed her arms and placed them next to her head and held them tightly so that she wouldn't escape. He then positioned himself above her. "Let me go!"

"Erza! Stop it!" He yelled. She stopped struggling and looked up at him. "You should know very well, better than anyone, how strong Natsu is!" He told her. "If you know that, then you should have the most faith in him than anyone else. I believe that Natsu will win and so should you!"

"Simon..."

"Erza..." The two stayed silent for a while before Erza spoke.

"Alright..." She said. "You're right...I should trust Natsu..." She said as Simon let out a sigh of relief that she calmed down. He let go of her arms and got up off of her. She sat up and narrowed her eyes as she looked down at her feet.

"We should go meet the others." He told her and she nodded.

"Alright..."

* * *

><p>Jellal used his meteor to try and sneak behind Natsu and deliver a blow in his blind spot, but it was no longer a blind spot because of the tail. Whenever he tried to punch and kick Natsu, his tail would block the blow. "You cheeky bastard..." Jellal shouted and swung his leg, but was blocked once more. Natsu smirked as his tail wrapped around Jellal's leg and then raised him in the air before slamming him down hard on the lacrima.<p>

Natsu then jumped, back flipped and clenched his right fist. "Arm of the Salamander: Flaming Dragon Strike!" A blast of fire magic shot out towards Jellal. He raised his arms up as the attack hit him, making him fall through the lacrima down to the next level. He crashed into the lacrima and an explosion occurred. Natsu fell through the hole and landed on the lower level. He panted a bit as he took time to catch his breath. He then saw his silhouette in the smoke and Natsu prepared himself for anything. A sudden blast of wind blew away the smoke and Natsu's eyes widened as the atmosphere around Jellal changed drastically. It felt a lot more darker than it did just a few seconds ago. When he saw him raise his head, Natsu's eyes widened as he saw one of his eyes look different. 'What the...'

"Natsu..." He growled in anger. "Wraaaaaaahhhhhhh!" He roared loudly as a blast of wind erupted from him, pushing Natsu back slightly. The lacrima around him started cracking from the sheer force of just his yelling. The skin around his eyes started to grow a certain pattern similar to that of his eye. It traveled all the way down to his neck and possibly even lower, but he couldn't tell because of his shirt. It even appeared on his arm.

'What the hell is this...?' Natsu wondered. The wind died down and Natsu glared at Jellal as he stood their with his arms slightly slumped down in front of his body. 'What is he planning...?' He then started to wave back and forth. Without knowing what happened, Natsu was suddenly punched in the face. "Gah!" Natsu rolled on the lacrima before getting to his feet and sliding to a stop. Natsu looked up and saw that Jellal was still waving back and forth...in the same exact spot. 'W-What the...what happened?' He was then punched again. Then another and another. 'How the hell is he doing this?' It didn't make sense. He was still in the exact same spot. Stilling moving back and forth.

"Natsu..." He growled again. Then he disappeared. Natsu then felt a strong wind go past him and then a cut appeared on his cheek.

'Damn...how the hell did he get so fast...I can't even see him...' Natsu started to panic. 'Shit...gotta calm down...' He took a deeper breath, but before he could concentrate, he felt a strong pressure in his stomach that caused the small Dragon skin on his chest to crack slightly. Natsu spat out blood. 'It hurts...not only did he become fast...but stronger...' Then another blow came. 'He only hit me once...but...it feels like I've been hit 100 times.' Jellal then finally made his appearance and swiped his arm, creating thousands of arrows of Heavenly Magic. Natsu's eyes widened as the arrows came at him in a flash, piercing through his body. 'D-Damn...it...' Natsu screamed as he was hit by arrow after arrow. Some of the arrows then pierced through his shoulder and shins and the arrows sent him toward a large crystal, pinning him there. Natsu couldn't move and whenever he struggled, pain shot throughout his body. 'Damn it...his magic...can even pierce through my dragon arm...' He winced as he felt pain in his shoulder when he tried to move it.

"Natsu..." He looked up to see Jellal in front of him. His eyes widened when he saw his eyes.

'Jellal...he's...' Natsu gritted his teeth in anger. "Zeref..." He growled in anger. Jellal was no longer Jellal. Jellal's was no longer in control of his own body. Zeref had full control over Jellal. Zeref smirked as he clenched his fists and started pummeling Natsu with punches. Natsu felt his entire body hurting and his insides burning up with every punch. When Zeref finally stopped, he opened his hand and tightened it like a claw and suddenly pierced through Natsu's wound that he received earlier when the crystal pierced him. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH HH!" Natsu screamed in agonizing pain.

"It must hurt...Natsu..." Zeref's voice spoke through Jellal's body. "Do you want to know why it hurts as much as it does?" He turned his hand and Natsu let out another painful scream. "It's not because of my hand...it's because of my magic..." Another scream erupted from his mouth. "...my magic is slowly absorbing your own life...the longer I have my hand in your body...the shorter your life is becoming...that's why I hate my magic...it kills, never helps...that's why I need you to kill me Natsu...I showed you 50% of my strength and yet you still can't beat me...I gave you a chance...and you failed me...I won't kill you instantly...instead...I'm going to make you watch and see as I make your comrades suffer one by one...you will see them die again and this time I won't help you...I will make you suffer for not being able to do the one single job I asked you to do...you have failed me Natsu...and I can't forgive that..."

Natsu's eyes widened at the words he just said. 'No...' He repeated in his head. 'I'm not weak...I won't let you do it...I won't let anyone of them die!' Something snapped inside of Natsu. Zeref suddenly felt something weird and immediately pulled his hand out of Natsu's body. He jumped away from him and glared at Natsu. "I WON'T LET ANY OF THEM DIE!" Natsu roared as the heavenly arrows dispersed from his shins and shoulder. A large flame suddenly exploded around Natsu. Natsu's roar suddenly became a mighty roar, similar to that of a full grown Dragon. His eyes became the same color as his flames.

"This is..." Zeref muttered as he recognized the power. "When did he..." Zeref narrowed his eyes. "Etherion..."

"WRAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Natsu roared even louder as the lacrima beneath his feet cracked. "Zeref!" Wings began to grow on Natsu's back. They continued and continued to grow until they became fully extended and shadowed over Zeref's body. "ZEREF!" He roared again and with a flap of the wings, Natsu slammed into Zeref, who was in Jellal's body. The two slammed into the lacrima, and continued to push through until they reached outside the lacrima. Zeref coughed out blood as he managed to use Jellal's Heavenly Magic to stay airborne.

"You...just how much of the Dragon Metamorphosis is that?" He asked, but all he got in response was another loud, dragon like roar.

* * *

><p>"Minna! It's Natsu-san!" Juvia pointed as the others looked up to see Natsu and Jellal in the air.<p>

"It's Jellal too!" Sho said.

"What the hell is up with those two? Why do they look like that?" Gray asked.

"That's Natsu's Dragon Metamorphosis." Happy responded.

"His what?" Lucy asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"Ah! That was supposed to be a secret!" Happy placed his paws over his mouth.

"Oh? What else are you hiding?" Gray narrowed his eyes at the cat.

"N-Nothing..." Happy looked away to the side and avoided eye contact with the ice mage.

"Spill it!" Gray pinched his cheeks.

"Okway! Stwop pwinching mwe!" Happy said. He started explaining the Dragon Metamorphosis and their responses were what he expected, shock and worry.

"What do you mean Natsu is slowly dying by using that technique!?" Lucy screamed. Before Happy could answer, an explosion happened and they looked up to see both fighters gone and smoke coming from the tower. They then reappeared on the other side.

"WRAAAAAAHHHHHH!" They heard Natsu roared and watched as he shot out a large blast of fire magic from his mouth.

"S-Sugoi..." Juvia said in shock.

"Natsu..." Lucy muttered.

"Take this!" Zeref shouted and shout out a large beam of heavenly magic at Natsu. Natsu covered himself using his wings as the beam hit and caused an explosion. Zeref knew that wouldn't do much, so he acted quickly. He moved quickly and delivered a kick, but it didn't do anything. 'Shit...' Natsu opened his wings and then grabbed Zeref by his neck. He then turned around and tossed him into the tower. He flapped his wings and followed him back into the tower. Zeref got back onto his feet and placed his hands above his head. An orb of magic appeared above him. "Take this! Altairis!" He shouted and launched the attack on the approaching Dragon Slayer.

"WRAAAAAHHHHH!" Natsu countered as he placed both of his arms together. A small ball of fire appeared and quickly turned to a larger flame. "Arms of the Salamander: Roaring Flame Cannon!" Natsu exhaled a long stream of fire that was absorbed by the flame in between his arms and a burst of flame magic shot out from him arms. The two attacks made contact with each other. The tower shook from the ferocity of the attacks. Then, a large explosion that spread all the way to the outside occurred.

When the smoke began to disperse, the tower started to slowly crumble away. The tower shook as the two combatants stood on the other side of each other. Both glaring. Both bleeding. Both tired and bruised. Both, charged at each other. Fists collided after fist. The shock wave made the lacrima crack and crumble. A tail swipe, sent Zeref, in Jellal's body, down to the lacrima. Natsu soared downward and wanted to punch Zeref, but he quickly got up and dodged it, making Natsu's fist destroy the lacrima. Zeref then kicked Natsu across the face and into the crystals. He shot a beam of Heavenly Magic in his direction, but Natsu easily swiped it away with one of his wings.

Natsu then flapped his wings and slammed into Zeref tot he outside of the tower once again. Once Zeref was free, he used Meteor to kick Natsu up in the air and then once again, back into the tower. Natsu stopped himself by clawing at the lacrima and then opened his mouth to shoot out a blast of condensed fire magic at Zeref. Using meteor to dodge and then enter the tower once more. He tried to knee Natsu in the face, but he quickly raised his arm to grab a hold of his knee and then toss him into a crystal. The lacrima around the crystal broke and caused both fighters to fall down to the next level, where they continued their assaults against each other.

Each were able to land either punches or kicks, but neither was backing down. They both knew that if they showed any sign of weakness, they will lose this fight. However, Natsu knew that he was very close to using all of his energy. It might have not shown from the way he was fighting, but the Dragon Metamorphosis did use a lot of his energy and he knew that he couldn't keep it up much longer. Eating Etherion and holding the power within him until he was provoked didn't help either. The two collided fists and when they did, Natsu winced in pain as he felt pain in his Dragon Arm.

'Shit...' Zeref noticed and smirked as he grabbed Natsu's arm threw him over his shoulder and down to the lacrima. Natsu gasped at the pain. Zeref then stood above him and pointed his hand down at him as magic began forming in the palm of his hand. 'Crap!' Zeref smirked as he shot a powerful beam of Heavenly Magic. Natsu fell down to the next level and crashed hard on the lacrima. He panted as he felt blood trickled down his temple. 'Damn it...the Etherion...Dragon Metamorphosis...they're taking their toll on my body...I don;t know how much longer I can hold on...' He turned his body so that he was facing the lacrima. He tried pushing himself up, but had a hard time due to his body feeling like lead.

Something then landed hard on the lacrima in front of him and Natsu knew exactly what it was. He gritted his teeth and raised his head to glare up at Zeref in Jellal's body. Natsu was then slammed face first down to the lacrima by Zeref's foot. "You say you want to protect your nakama...but there is something you forgot...isn't there...Natsu..."

"W-What are you talking about...?" Natsu groaned as he turned his head to the side to speak. He felt Zeref's foot on his head push him further down to the lacrima.

"That you yourself are hurting one of the nakama you want to protect..." Natsu's eyes widened in shock.

"W-What?"

"Just who do you think you have been fighting, Natsu? Zeref...or Jellal?" Natsu realized what he was saying. His eyed widened even further, but this time in horror. "That's right Natsu...you have been fighting Jellal...not me...you have been hurting one of the people you promised to protect, did you not? You wanna know something else?" Zeref leaned down toward him. "The longer I'm in control of this man...the more I'm killing him."

Just those words themselves, made Natsu angry beyond belief. Something suddenly snapped inside Natsu that caused Zeref to get away from the Dragon slayer. "Zeref!" He roared as a large geyser of flame erupted from underneath Natsu and then took the form of a dragon. Zeref prepared himself for whatever it was that was coming, but not even that was enough as he was punched in the stomach and then pushed upward. He spat out blood and Natsu clenched his fists, ignited them with the Flame of Rebuke and started an onslaught of punches that continued to make Zeref rise higher and higher up the tower.

* * *

><p>"Erza!" Lucy cheered as they saw Erza and Simon at the base of the tower.<p>

"I'm so glad you're okay!" Sho shouted in relief as Juvia moved the ball of water they were in toward them. When she finally reached them, the two got in and Happy immediately went to hug her.

"Waaah! I was so scared!" He cried as Erza smiled at him.

"I'm alright, Happy." She petted him and then looked up at the others. "Is everyone okay?"

"Of course...we're members of Fairy Tail..." Gray told her. Lucy nodded her head in agreement.

"Yeah..." Suddenly the reunion was halted when they heard the sound of a roar coming from the top of the tower.

"What the?" Wally asked as they looked up and saw two figures soaring to the sky above.

"It's Natsu!" Lucy shouted as Erza saw who they were too and her eyes widened at the way Natsu looked.

'Natsu...' She remembered what Happy told her about the Dragon Metamorphosis and how the more of his body is transformed, the faster his life was draining away. 'No...please...not for my sake...Natsu...please...you promised...' She didn't notice that she began to cry until Happy pointed it out.

"Erza...why are you crying?" He asked. Everyone turned away from the two above the tower and at her.

Erza gasped and quickly wiped away the tears. However, they wouldn't stop. "I don't know...I don't know..." She couldn't answer.

"Oi...Juvia...get us away from the tower!" Gray suddenly said.

"Hai, Gray-sama!" She immediately did as she was asked by Gray and started to move the water bubble away.

"What's going on?" Simon asked.

"Natsu is about to do something stupid and dangerous..." He told them and they all looked up to see what Gray was talking about.

* * *

><p>Natsu continued to throw punches at Zeref until they were high enough in the air above the tower. 'W-What is this...?' Zeref wondered as he couldn't believe what was happening. He felt every single punch that Natsu through at him, but Jellal's body didn't show any signs of being hit.<p>

"Flame of Rebuke...has one other property to it..." Natsu told him as if he read Zeref's mind. "...out of the Six Flames of Lux Aeterna...it is considered to be the flame of light that destroys all evil...seeing as it didn't effect Jellal but you...proves that the flame sees only you Zeref has evil and not Jellal!"

'Damn it...' Zeref cursed as he tried to move Jellal's body, but couldn't. He wanted to use more of his strength, but couldn't because of the spell that was placed on Jellal. He looked down and saw Natsu flap his wings to get above him.

"This is it...Zeref...the final blow..." Natsu told him as he clenched his dragon fist tightly and ignited it with the Flame of Rebuke.

'Damn it...'

"Arm of the Salamander...Light Flame Dragon Strike!" Natsu delivered a powerful punch at Zeref, as a long golden flame traveled along with him into the tower, down level after level, all the way until Jellal's body slammed hard into the base of the tower, where a large explosion occurred.

The others were in shock at what just happened as the waves rock back and forth. Erza kept her eyes up at Natsu and watched as he started to fall down to the tower, his Dragon Metamorphosis

no longer anywhere on his body. "Natsu!" She screamed as he disappeared form view into the tower. Natsu continued to fall down the tower until he crashed into the lacrima somewhere in the middle of the tower.

"Ah...ah...ah..." He panted as he tried to catch his breath. He felt completely exhausted after the fight he had with Zeref. His entire body felt sore and he knew he wasn't going to be able to do anything for a while. He opened his eyes and looked up at the night sky and smiled. "I did it...damn that Master of mine...who knew he actually knew his stuff..." He chuckled. The tower then started to shake. Natsu looked around and saw that the tower was starting to become unstable. 'Oh no...the tower...it's coming apart...the Etherion...it's going berserk...' He couldn't believe he forgot. He assumed it was because he was too busy being preoccupied with Zeref that he forgot about it. 'Shit...if I don't do something...the others will...' Using all the strength that he had left, he crawled over to a crystal. The lacrima around him started to crack and fall down the tower, but that didn't stop him and he continued. When he finally got there, he used the crystal to lift himself up to his feet. He let go of the crystal and looked at it. 'Sorry...Erza...Happy...everyone...Mira...' He looked at the crystal. 'I don't know what's going to happen, but I won't die...I can't die...now with Zeref still around...that's why...wait for me...no matter how long it takes...' With a smirk, he raised his arms and dug them into the crystal as a bright light soon engulfed him.

* * *

><p>The others were watching in horror as the tower was getting destroyed. "Natsu!" Erza screamed as she tried to get out of the bubble, but was stopped by Simon and Gray.<p>

"Don't!" Gray shouted.

"It's too dangerous!" Simon added.

"But...Natsu...he's still in there! He's still..." She stopped when a bright light suddenly started to appear from the tower.

"W-What is that?" Lucy asked. No one knew the answer and all they could do was watch as the bright light got so bright that they had to cover their eyes. When they light disappeared, they all opened their eyes and did their best to clear their vision. When they did, they saw nothing. No tower, no crystal, no lacrima...nothing. "Hey...what's going on...?"

"W-Where is the tower?" Gray asked.

"W-What happened...to Natsu?" Happy asked.

"Natsu..." Erza wondered the same thing. Then she saw something above her and looked up. Her eyes widened when she saw a scarf heading toward them, flying against the soft wind. "T-That's..." Lucy placed her hands over her mouth and gasped. Gray gritted his teeth and widened his eyes. The scarf slowly landed on the water in front of the group as Erza stared at it. "No...i-it can't be...n-no...NATSU!"

**To Be Continued...**

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes: <strong>I'm a bad person...well, it will leave you suspenseful and hopefully make you come back for more! I had a difficult time writing the fight scene, mostly because school has been a bother, as well as comic con, but I was busy building a haunted hotel at my school, so October is a really busy month for me.

For those who are wondering about the Revolutionist, my One Piece harem fic, that will be the next fic I update. I promise you that.

So I hope you guys like the fight and come back for the next chapter as I move in to the next arc, which is actually going to follow up on the events that happened in this arc. Also, the grammar, I'm sorry for the grammar and never checking, but I never seem to have the chance to do it because I know how much you guys want to read my story, so I update as soon as I'm done. Maybe, one day I will edit every single one of the chapters that hasn't been edited yet, but who knows. Also, I'm sorry if I confuse you when I start to call Jellal Zeref, but I hope you can follow it.

Until next time!


	24. Natsu's Death?

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related which includes the characters of Fairy Tail.

**Rated M! You have been warned!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 24: Natsu's Death?<strong>

_Dear Okaa-san,_

_When I and the others, that being Natsu, Happy, Gray and Erza, were given tickets to a resort to relax from Loke, who turned out to be Leo the Celestial Spirit, we assumed it would be filled with us just having fun and laughing the entire day. However...things didn't turned out as planned. In fact, they became worse than anything I ever expected. When we were enjoying ourselves, we met Erza's past and that led us to go to this tall creepy tower. There we fought against not only Erza's childhood friends, but also these other creepy looking characters. I managed to beat one of them with Juvia, but we passed out after that and the next thing I knew, I was under water, swimming to get some air. I wasn't sure what was going on, but when I was told, I couldn't believe it. Natsu was fighting this guy named Jellal, who apparently, according to Erza and her friends was possessed on reviving this evil mage named Zeref._

_When the Etherion fired, I really thought I was going to die. You wouldn't believe how much magical energy I felt coming from that Etherion blast. However, nothing happened to us as the tower turned out to be a huge lacrima that absorbed all of the Etherion. My eyes still couldn't believe it. Then, a large explosion occurred and the next thing any of us saw was Natsu fighting against someone who I assumed was Jellal. Their fight was like nothing I had ever seen before. It was like it was on a whole new different level. Erza eventually joined us after she escaped from the tower, which I presumed was requested by Natsu. A little while later, the waves starting rocking back and forth as we saw dust escaping from each level of the lacrima tower until we felt ourselves shaking when something hit the last floor of the tower._

_After that, the tower started to break down. I was scared. I was worried about the pink haired dragon slayer inside, the same person who brought me to this guild that I love so much. Then, a bright light came out of nowhere and just as it came, it was gone and the tower...was no longer there. I was confused at what happened, but I suddenly had this weird, worried feeling in my chest. Then, I saw it. The white scarf that I could recognize like the back of my hand. The scarf that belonged to Natsu. It glided down toward us and then fell into the water. Then, Erza let out a scream. _

_After wards, we spent day after day looking for the owner of that scarf. However, no matter how hard we looked, we couldn't find him. Eventually, we gave up, except for one person, Erza. I didn't want to give up, but if we couldn't find him after days of searching, we knew that Natsu Dragneel was gone. Erza, just couldn't believe it. She just couldn't believe in the fact that Natsu was dead. We pleaded and begged her to just stop, but she wouldn't listen. It wasn't until Simon, one of Erza's childhood friends, slapped her across her face that she stopped and just gave into the fact that Natsu was dead._

_I wasn't sure how long she cried for, but eventually she stopped and it was time for us to head back to the guild. Simon and the others decided that it would be best if they didn't join the guild and set out to seek out their future by themselves now that they were no longer building that tower. Erza understood and bid them a tearful farewell. The trip back to the guild was the most awkward and silent one I ever been on. Erza sat by herself, while I, Gray, Juvia and Happy, who had the saddest expression I ever seen on his face, looked down at the scarf that belonged to his best friend in the whole world. When we arrived at the guild..._

"Hey look! Erza and the others are back!" Max shouted as everyone in the guild turned their heads to greet the returning members with grins and smiles. Mirajane, who was in the back, heard Max and stopped what she was doing to rush to the guild and see the man she loved after so long. When she entered the main hall, she had a wide smile at first, but slowly, it disappeared. She looked around and saw the expressions of shock on everyone's faces. Even Makarov had a look of horror.

'W-What's going on?' She wondered as she walked past the others toward the door. When Elfman saw his older sister, he panicked and rushed over to her. "Hey, what's going on?" Mirajane asked as she saw Erza, Lucy, Gray, Juvia, Happy and...no Natsu. "H-Hey...w-where is...Natsu?" She asked and at the mention of his name, the five cringed.

"Nee-chan..." She heard her younger sibling speak to her from behind.

"Natsu..." Erza was the one to speak up. "He's...he's..." She had tears run down her face. "He's dead..." Mirajane's eyes widened as far as they could. She felt her entire body shake. She felt her body get cold. Her legs could no longer support her and she fell.

"Nee-chan!" Elfman cried out as he ran over to her and knelt down beside her. His eyes widened at her appearance. It reminded him of the time Lisanna died. He never wanted her to experience the same thing back then and he figured that Natsu would help him, after all he did promise. However, now he was dead.

"You're lying..." She finally spoke as tears started to slowly run down her cheeks. "You're lying..." She repeated, but the expressions on their faces told her other wise. Mirajane literally felt her heart shatter into pieces. Every single person she loved was dying. Happy slowly walked toward her, the scarf of his best friend in his paws.

"M-M-Mira..." The blue exceed cried as tears ran down his face. He then lifted his paws and she looked down to see the scarf of the man she fell in love with. The same man who was now dead. "I-I'm...sorry..." He apologized. Mirajane stared at the scarf for a moment before lifting her shaking, weak hands to grab it. She looked at it for a few more moments before she erupted in a cry. She clenched the scarf and held it tightly against herself as she cried. Soon, the entire guild did the same. Most cried, others had a look of sadness and regret. This was one of the saddest moments the guild had ever experienced.

_The once rowdy guild that I loved was never the same. I wasn't too sure about why Happy gave Mirajane his scarf, but I didn't question it, since it was not my business and the fact that this was probably the saddest moment of my life since you died, Okaa-san. But...in my heart...I felt as if Natsu's death meant a lot to me. I wasn't sure why, but it did. It hurts...Okaa-san...why d s it hurt so much...why...w ...I just don't understand...N ...why did you h e to die...why...?_

Lucy couldn't write anymore. As she looked down at the paper, her tears smudged some of the ink making the last part hardly readable. She just couldn't believe that Natsu was dead. Not only that, but she was taking it hard and yet she didn't know why. The tears continued to run down like two waterfalls. She raised her hands and cried into them. "Natsu...you idiot...why did you have to die...?"

* * *

><p>"Wraaaaaahhhhhhhhh!" Gray roared as he slammed his fist into a tree and kept punching the bark and continued, even when blood started to seep through his fists. "Damn it!" He roared again as he just punched the poor tree. "You fucking dumb ass! How dare you get yourself killed!?"<p>

"G-Gray-sama..." Juvia whispered as she was spying on him from behind a different tree. She hated seeing the person she loved in so much pain.

"Damn it!" He slammed his fist one more time before it broke in half and fell to the ground. He clenched his bloody fists tightly and gritted his teeth in anger. He dropped to his knees and then let out a yell. 'I won't...I won't never...let anyone die again!'

* * *

><p>Erza sat on her bed, knees pressed against her chest and arms wrapped around them. She was still in her pajamas and in fact, never left her room ever since she came back home. All she did was coop up in her room, locked the door and laid on her bed. Her room was destroyed with many of her belongings on the floor due to her venting out her anger. She wasn't angry at Natsu, no, she was angry at herself. 'None of this...was your problem...I should...I should have been the one...why Natsu...why?' She lowered her head and started to cry again into her legs.<p>

She blamed herself. She blamed herself for his death. No matter what anyone told her, she knew it was her fault that he was dead. It was all her fault.

* * *

><p>"Hey! Are you sure this is normal?"<p>

"Of course I do. This isn't my first time seeing this!"

"Really?"

"...Okay maybe it is, but I at least know that this is normal."

"He looks like he is in a lot of pain."

"Of course...that's what he gets for doing something so stupid like that."

"Well, it's not like he had no choice..."

"Maybe...but...at least now he will be able to do something about 'him'."

"Is he on the move already?"

"Yeah...especially now..."

"That's bad..."

"I know...but we can't rush anything...hopefully they can hold him and those 'monsters' of his off until he wakes up..."

"Yeah..."

* * *

><p>"Damn it! What the hell are those things!?" A blond haired man, with a scar on his face yelled as he ran away from something. The man was none other than Laxus.<p>

"Wryaaaaaahhhhh!" Laxus' eyes widened at the shrieking sound of whatever it was that attacked him and the others of the Thunder Tribe. No matter what he did, he couldn't do anything to stop or even hurt the monster like thing. None of his magic worked and all of his attacks just went through it like nothing. It wasn't long before Laxus ran out of room to run as he stood at the edge of a cliff. He panted heavily as he hoped to run back and go in a different way, but as soon as he turned around, he met face to face with this monster.

"No...you bastard! I don't what you are, but take this this!" He shot a long bolt of lightning at the monster. However, the attack just went through it. Laxus was just shocked. Considering how strong he was, seeing something that was not affected by his magic stunned him. "W-What the hell are you?"

"Wryaaaahhhhh!" The monster roared and then charged at Laxus.

"No...get away from me!" Laxus shouted before the monster struck him, making him yell out an ear drum piercing scream.

A man with spiky hair and a large scar that traveled down his left eye to his chin and down his neck glared at Magnolia Town, a scowl on his face. "These humans...are nothing but weak and pathetic species...I can't wait to let their blood spill all over this worthless planet...especially after finally being revived after so long..." He chuckled and smirked. He then heard the sound of someone walking toward him. He turned around and smirked. "So, you four have successfully done it?"

"Yes, Master." The man smirked widened before he laughed. He looked up to gaze at the moon. "Well done...now then, let's head over to the next target..." He told the four and they nodded as they followed him.

* * *

><p>"That stupid brat! How dare he get himself killed!?" Makarov yelled and then burped. Porlyusica sighed as she was watching Makarov go on a tirade for the past couple of house. She was confused at first on why he came to see her, but when his drunk personality told her why, she understood why Makarov was acting this way. He lost a guild member. A member who he considered as one of his children. "Damn him!" He yelled once again, making her sigh again.<p>

"Look, I'm sorry for what happened to Natsu, but I would really like to have some peace and quiet, especially seeing how late it is." She told him.

"No! I will never forgive him!" Makarov yelled in response. Porlyusica was about to yell at him to get out of the forest, but she suddenly sensed something approaching nearby and it didn't feel welcoming.

"What is this...?" She whispered.

"Hmm? Oh Laxus, what are you doing back so early? Did you run away from your mission?" Porlyusica eye's widened as she turned around to see Laxus standing in front of his grandfather.

'What the...something is not right...' She thought, glaring at the younger man. "Makarov, get away from him..." She told him.

"Huh? Why? He's my grandson! It's not like he's some mysterious stranger...actually he kind of looks like one..." He commented and laughed. Laxus then suddenly kicked his grandfather, slamming him into a tree.

"Makarov!" Porlyusica screamed as she saw Makarov slide down the tree. She then turned back to Laxus. 'Something's not right with him...what is this feeling...?'

"You're Porlyusica...are you not?" She widened her eyes when she turned in the other direction and saw the source of the creepy and calm voice.

"Who are you and how do you know my name?" She asked as the man smirked.

"I know everything about you and anyone you are affiliated with, Porlyusica." He told her. "However, I am not interested in you."

"Then who are you after?"

"Makarov of course." He replied.

"What do you plan on doing with him?"

"That is none of your concern."

"What about Laxus? What did you do to him?"

"Again, none of your concern." Porlyusica got ticked off.

"Just who the hell are you?"

"I am someone who you do not want to interfere with. I guarantee you that if you do, you won't live the sun rise." He told her. "As such, it's best if you don't interfere with our plan." Porlyusica furrowed her eyebrows at him. Suddenly, she sensed someone's presence behind her and turned around. Next thing she could remember were dark brown colored eyes and she was turned to stone.

"Alright then, let's get this done quickly." The man said as Laxus arrived, dropping Makarov on the ground. He walked over to the man. He smirked and turned his head to look at the shadow that was on the ground. "Alright then, you know your job, go find the one who has the weakest heart." The shadow suddenly moved and disappeared. "Now then..." He looked back at Makarov. "...let's get started."

* * *

><p>Mirajane continued to cry. As she laid in the bed that she and Natsu first made love to each other, clenching the scarf in her hands, she felt the saddest she had ever been since Lisanna died. She just couldn't take it. 'Why...why does everyone I love die? Why?' She wondered as she wanted to know the answer. For some strange reason, some God out there was killing off the people she loved, leaving her only with Elfman and few others at the guild.<p>

However, she loved Natsu more than she cared about anyone at the guild. He was the man she was in love with. She was deeply in love with him. She couldn't believe that this Death God would take him away from her, just like Lisanna. She didn't know how she could handle it. She missed him so dearly. She missed that grin of his, that pink hair, his fiery personality, everything about him she missed. Why was life so cruel to her.

Was she cursed? Was she not suppose to feel love? Why her? It just wasn't fair. She missed him so much. She never thought that he would die also, but it happened. He promised he would do anything to make sure she never felt this miserable. Yet, he broke that promise as she cried her heart out on his bed.

She opened her eyes halfway and when she did, she gasped when something went past the window. She sat up abruptly, clenching Natsu's scarf to her chest and turned around, but saw nothing. The tears continued to fall down her face. Her eyes widened when she felt something appearing behind her and turned around, but saw nothing.

Suddenly, a large shadow appeared on the wall behind her, next to the window. A monster began to come out of the shadow, glaring it's eyes at the white haired mage on the bed. He then jumped out of the wall toward her. Mirajane turned her head at the exact moment the monster reached, her eyes widening in horror and releasing a gasp.

Five figures stood looking down at the bustling Magnolia Town. Their bodies completely covered in darkness. They just stood there, overlooking the town as several lights started to turn off for the night. Soon after wards, a sixth figure appeared. The man in the middle, turned toward the new person and smirked. "So, you found someone?" The figure nodded their head. "Good." He turned his head back to Magnolia Town. "Look at these simple and idiotic fools...soon, they're precious and problem free lives will be filled with their blood all over the streets of this worthless town. Our time of reckoning is coming! All of this, is for one person and one person only. For Zeref!"

* * *

><p>"Ugh..."<p>

"Hey! He's waking up!"

"Huh? Oh...okay..." Ticked off at his response, Eve threw a chair at him that knocked him into the wall.

"What was that for!?"

"You could at least be considerate since he's your pupil!"

"That's just how I am!"

"Well, then change!"

"Ugh..." The two of them, both quelled their anger as they looked over at the person laying on the futon. He started to open his eyes and the first thing he saw, after recovering his vision, was a wooden ceiling. "W-Where...am I?"

"Your dead."

"W-What?" He responded when he heard a voice. "Well, everyone you know thinks you're dead." He moved his head so that he could see what was in front of him and his eyes widened. He sat up abruptly and instead of screaming the person's name, he winced in the extreme pain that was coursing through his body.

"It's best if you don't move." He heard a female voice and opened his eyes as saw someone place a hand on his back.

"Y-You're..."

"Shhh...your body is still in bad shape...it's best if you rest for now..." Eve told him.

"I'm afraid he doesn't have the time to do that." The two turned their heads toward him.

"What? But he's..."

"I know. Normally, I would give him time to rest, but, they started to move."

"You mean?" He nodded his head.

"Yeah...Sekrom has already infiltrated Magnolia with his pets."

"W-Who the hell is that?"

"Right, you don't know him, I'll explain everything later, but right now we have to do something first." He said and walked over to him.

"W-What?"

"We need you to fuse all the Etherion you absorbed from that tower, Natsu."

"F-Fuse...how?" Natsu asked as he looked at the man who taught him during the two years he was away from Fairy Tail.

"There is a certain spell that I know that will let you fuse with the Etherion, however, it will cause you a tremendous amount of pain. If we're not careful, you could die." He explained.

"I can't die just yet..."

"Yes, you made that perfectly clear. Every freaking day..." He said the last part in a whisper. "Anyway, we don't have much time so, are you ready?"

"But there is a lot I want to ask you about..."

"Then ask me when you fuse the Etherion." He suddenly clapped his hands together and a magic circle appeared under Natsu.

"W-Wait, I'm not ready..."

"Ooops..." The magic circle glowed a bright red color and the marking on the magic circle appeared on Natsu's body and it was at that moment that he shrieked in pain. Eve had to close her ears at the scream the pink haired dragon slayer let out as he shook erratically.

"Hey! Is this supposed to happen?" Eve asked, trying to settle Natsu down.

"Of course. Right now his body is trying to get used to the Etherion that he absorbed. Earlier the Etherion in his body was stable, however, Etherion is poisonous and if it stayed in his body, then he would have eventually died. The magic spell I put on him is one that has been forgotten today, but it was used to control Etherion over a couple of centuries ago. Right now, you could say is that his body is creating antibodies for the Etherion, but it's a very painful process."

"How long will it last?"

"A couple of hours, or less if he decides to give up." Eve glared at him.

"Hey, that's the only way he could die." He responded shrugging his shoulders as Natsu let out another cry of pain. 'Don't die...Natsu...'

* * *

><p>Elfman knocked on the door to Fairy Hills. He knew how much Natsu's return helped Mirajane cope with the loss of their younger sibling, so when he heard the news of Natsu's death, he became worried about his sister. She told him that she was going to stay at Fairy Hills until their home could get fixed so this was where he was. He was worried about his sister so much that he couldn't get any sleep last night. He had the urge to go see her, but didn't because he was sure Mirajane didn't want to see anyone. He knocked again when there wasn't a response.<p>

The door then opened. "Who is it?" It was Laki.

"Laki, good morning." Elfman greeted.

"Oh? Elfman! What are you doing here?" She asked, surprised of his sudden visit, especially so early in the morning.

"Sorry for not being manly and waking you up so early, but I was wondering if I could talk to Nee-chan." He said and Laki's confused expression got even more confused.

"Huh? Mira? But, she isn't here." She responded.

"Huh? Then where did she go? Did she tell you?" He asked.

"But Elfman, Mirajane never lived here..." At this, Elfman was now the one who was confused.

"W-What? But she told me that she was temporarily staying at Fairy Hills..."

"Well, as far as I know...she hasn't been living here...I'm sorry Elfman..." Laki apologized.

"N-No, no need to apologize..." He told her. "Thanks anyway, see you at the guild." He told her and she nodded, closing the door. 'Nee-chan...w-what's going on?' He didn't know why she lied, but he was going to get to the bottom of this. He then made his way toward the guild.

* * *

><p>Everyone at Fairy Tail was silent as Natsu's death still hit everyone hard. The festival that they held annually was going to be talked about first thing in the morning, so everyone woke up bright early just to attend this discussion. Makarov was already inside as he waited for a good hour and by that time, the guild was almost full with members. He then stood up.<p>

"Alright brats, listen up!" He yelled as the guild all turned to him. Some of the noise that they made started to fade away. Makarov got their attention and he cleared his throat. "Alright, as you all know...Natsu's passing was unexpected and a tragic one. His funeral is going to be held two days from now...but before that, we have to talk about the Harvest Festival. As many of you know, the festival is held annually and has never been missed..." The guild all had looks of sorrow on their faces as they knew where the master was headed. "...and that will stay. We will still be hosting the Harvest Festival."

Everyone was shocked at what their Master just told them. The most angry one was Erza as she slammed her hands down on the table she was sitting on, breaking it in half. "What is this, Master?" She growled. She never got angry at the Master, mostly because he was wise and always right about everything he said and done, but this time, she had every right to be angry with him.

"My mind has been made up, Erza." He responded and it only made her angrier.

"Don't give me that!" She screamed, glaring at the master. "How can you say that when you know what has happened!? We lost a member of this guild, a member of our family and you still plan on hosting a festival! We shouldn't be doing anything, but mourning Natsu's..." She couldn't finish that sentence.

"Yes, I know. However, we have an obligation to this town and..."

"I know that! But still..." Erza clenched her hands tightly.

"Hahahahaha! What's wrong there Erza, Happy got your tongue?" The entire guild turned their heads at the familiar voice. Erza's eyes became daggers as she glared fiercely at Laxus.

"Laxus..." She growled.

"Why so angry Erza?" He asked. "Oh that's right...that fire breathing idiot died...hahahahaha, I knew he was weakling!" That did it for Erza's anger as she rushed toward Laxus, equipping a sword and trying to stab Laxus right in the chest. A large hand then suddenly smashed the raging woman down to the ground as she groaned in pain.

"That's enough Erza!" Makarov told her. "Laxus, I advise you to be careful with your words..."

"Hahahahaha! Oh come on, can't I have some fun!"

"You bastard!" Erza screamed. "Just what did you think Natsu's life was!?"

"He was nothing but an annoying little insect." He told her. Everyone at the guild gasped at his words. They even starting calling him names. "Go ahead, call me whatever you want, but you all know I am far stronger than any of you and so none of you have the guts to challenge me! Especially you, Erza. If I'm correct...isn't it your fault he's dead?" Erza gasped and widened her eyes.

"No...I..."

"Face it, Erza! It's your fault he's dead and you are just using me as an excuse for that!"

"N-No...that's not true...I...I..."

"It is true! It's because of you! You killed Natsu!"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Everyone turned toward the angry voice that just called out and it belonged to Gray Fullbuster. "I had enough of this..."

"Gray-sama..." Juvia whispered while frowning.

"Gray..." Lucy did the same as Happy cried next to her.

"I had enough of your bullshit Laxus! You and me, let's fight! I'm going to kick your ass!" He pointed a finger at his fellow guild mate.

"Hahahaha! Do you really think you can beat me, huh Gray? Come on, don't waste my time on something as this." Laxus told him.

"Do you think I give a fuck!?" He glared at him.

"Oh..."

"I will not allow any fighting amongst each other!" Makarov roared as he glared at Gray and Laxus. "Laxus, I will speak to you after I'm done with my announcements." He glared at his grandson who just scoffed and crossed his arms. Gray continued to glare at him, but sat back down as he didn't want to face the master's wrath. Erza just stayed on the floor as Laxus' words were on repeat in her mind.

"Now then, regarding the festival before I was interrupted...I..."

"I think we should host it." Everyone turned to look at Mirajane as she looked down to the floor with a frown on her face.

"Nee-chan..." Elfman whispered as he looked at his sister.

"I'm sure that...Natsu wouldn't want us to cancel it...I'm sure he would want us to host the festival..." She told them, clinging to the scarf that once belonged to the pink haired Dragon Slayer.

"Mira..." Happy cried as he wiped his tears with his paws. "I...I agree..." Happy spoke out his opinion as Lucy looked at the blue exceed and smiled at him.

"I agree." After that, several more guild mates approved. Gray eventually agreed as Makarov nodded his head.

"Very well then, that will be all." Makarov told them. He jumped off of the bar and walked over to Laxus. "Come on, we need to talk."

Laxus looked at his grandfather and just sighed, getting up from his seat. The two of them walked out of the guild as everyone watched them. Gray walked over to Erza and bent down to offer his hand to her. "He's right...it's my fault..." She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth.

"No, he's not right. Don't listen to that asshole." He told her. Erza's frown deepened.

* * *

><p>"So, how did I do?"<p>

"You did very well, but if it wasn't for her response, we might not have gotten them to host their stupid festival."

"Well, you are the Master so, I'm sure they would have to have done anyway." Makarov smirked.

"Yeah, I guess that is true. Just make sure you and the others are prepared."

"Of course." Laxus responded and disappeared as Makarov turned his head to look at the guild. A mischievous smirk on his face.

* * *

><p>"He stopped moving..." Eve said as Natsu's body stayed motionless.<p>

"Hmm...it's either complete...or he's..."

"Don't say that!" Eve screamed at him.

"Sorry, but since he hasn't moved then we can assume that he's..." He didn't finish and just skipped over the word. "...looks like it was useless..." Just then, Natsu coughed. "Oh thank whatever God there is!" He quickly responded getting down to his knees. "He almost gave me a heart attack..."

"Right..." Eve stated with a sweat drop. She then turned back to Natsu as he continued to cough. He then opened his eyes and saw Eve staring down at him with a frown. "Are you okay?" She asked.

"I feel like I threw up..." He responded as he tried to sit up. Eve helped him as he felt sweaty and tired. "Am I...done?"

"Yes...seeing as how you are still alive and feel nauseous...it means you completely fused with Etherion." His teacher told him and he put on a weak grin.

"That's good..."

"Now you are much stronger...not only that, but the antibiotics that were made in your body to resist the Etherion and let you use its power, will also help you with any poison known in the world."

"Huh? R-Really?"

"Yep, Etherion is considered to be very poisonous, which is why hardly anyone ever uses or tries to control it's power. If you get hit with any other poison, the antibodies will be able to fight it off. Pretty neat, huh?"

"I guess..."

"You're confused about my whole explanation, aren't you?"

"Well, I get the part of me getting more powerful, so I don't really care much about the other part." He answered as his teacher sweat dropped.

"R-Right..."

"Anyway...you said I could ask you some questions..." Natsu said.

"Yeah, I did. So, ask away?" His teacher said as he sat down on the chair.

"Okay...but first..." Natsu suddenly did his best to get to his feet, despite protests from Eve.

"Hmm?" His teacher hummed as Natsu walked over to him slowly. Natsu then punched his teacher in the face, sending him to the wall. "Ow! What was that for!?" His teacher yelled as he got up, a hand to his cheek.

"That's for burning down my home, you bastard!"

"I did it for you, dumb ass!" He yelled back. "I mean at least I didn't burn down all your things!"

"I don't care! I didn't ask for a new home to live in!"

"If this is what I get for being considerate then fine, this is the last time I do something nice for you!"

"Good!" Natsu panted as he felt kind of dizzy from all the yelling. He grabbed the chair his teacher was sitting on and sat down. "My head..."

"That's what you get..." Natsu glared at his teacher. "Alright, what do you want to know?"

"Before I ask you about this Sekrom guy, there is something I want to know..."

"What is it?"

"What happened to Jellal?" The room got silent. Natsu was confused so he looked back and forth between his teacher and Eve. "W-What?"

"Natsu...he's..." Eve began as she frowned.

"W-What? D-Don't tell me...is he...?" Natsu felt his chest tightened at the thought of Jellal's fate.

"He's..." His teacher paused for a minute or two before speaking again. "He's...sleeping in the next room." Natsu blinked and blinked some more. It took a while for his mind to process what he said.

"Huh?"

"I said he's sleeping in the next room." He pointed a finger to the wall on his right.

"Then...what was with those faces...and the silence..." He asked confused.

"Oh...that...I'm not sure about Eve, but I thought it would be funny to see your expression." He responded.

"Bastard!" Natsu punched his teacher again. "That's not funny!"

"Hey! I do agree that it wasn't funny, but I thought it might be a way to cheer you up!"

"Yeah, you're right...it did..."

"Really?"

"Yeah...you gave me another reason to punch you!"

"Oi!"

Natsu sighed and sat back down on the chair. "So, he's alright then...that's good..." He smiled.

"Yeah...there is something I need to talk to you about Jellal though..." Natsu perked up at this.

"What?"

"I'm planning to have him join me, Eve and Alastor to help you fight against Zeref..." He told him.

"Oh I see...w-wait a minute! A-Alastor? Z-Zeref?" Natsu asked.

"Oh yeah...Alastor is working with us..." His teacher told him.

"Huh? You mean that guy is with you?" He nodded his head. "Then...that time...during my fight with him..."

"Yep, I asked him to go up against you...to see how strong you were..."

"You bastard! I should punch you again!" Natsu yelled at him again.

"Heh, go ahead, I'm more prepared now."

"But I'm not...mostly because you helped me back then..." Natsu told him.

"Hmph...right..."

"How do you know about Zeref?" His teacher stayed silent as he looked at him with a serious expression.

"Isn't it obvious? We are trying to stop him from getting revived. If he gets revived, then this world is going to meet it's end." He answered.

"But how did you know I was fighting against Zeref? What aren't you telling me?"

"I told you, I..."

"Don't lie! I saw you..." Natsu started.

"Huh? Saw me?"

"In a book...I saw a picture of you and Zeref, looking at each other as if you two were about to fight." His teacher stared at him, unfazed by his words.

"You must have been seeing things..." He responded.

"Don't give me th-"

"Natsu!" He stopped and turned around to look at Eve.

"It's best if you don't pry into that until the time is right." She told him as she walked over to him. "I may not know much about it either, but I still think it's best if you don't ask him about this until some time in the future."

"Fine, but I want to know about that and I won't stop until I know, but I can wait."

"Good...anything else you want to ask?" His teacher asked.

"Can I see Jellal?"

"Yeah, come on..." His teacher got up and walked over to Natsu, grabbed his shoulder, wrapped it around his neck and helped him toward the door. Eve walked right behind them, making sure Natsu didn't collapse. When they entered the room, Alastor was there.

"So, he's awake?" He said and Natsu looked at him.

"Yeah, I did." Alastor looked back as Natsu's teacher let hims it down on an empty chair in front of Jellal's body. Natsu looked down to see Jellal sleeping soundly. He let out a sigh of relief that he was alive. "That's a relief..."

"You see...anything else you want to ask?"

"Did you tell him about the night you saw him and that girl having..." Alastor was suddenly hit by a chair. "What the hell was that for!?" Alastor screamed at him.

"What was he talking about?" Eve asked the question she and Natsu had as they gave the two suspicious looks.

"Oh that, it's nothing...this guy is crazy...if you know what I'm saying, hahahahaha!" Natsu's teacher responded, laughing.

"What the hell is your pro-" He was kicked in the stomach by Natsu's teacher.

"Would you just shut up or I won't remove that curse!" He whispered toward him.

"Damn you..." Alastor growled at him.

"Anyway, what else did you want to ask?"

"Who is this Sekrom guy?"

"Sekrom..." His teacher paused again as he sat down on the chair he threw at Alastor. "...back when Zeref was using his black magic to wreak havoc, he had followers..."

"Followers?"

"They were a group of very powerful, but evil wizards and witches that used their special abilities or powers given to them by Zeref to kill and destroy everything. What I'm about to tell you next is something that you can either believe or not, but it is the truth. However, this is something that you won't find in any history book because it was removed by the Magic Council and the King a long time ago."

"W-What is it?"

"The War."

"A war? There was such a thing?"

"Yes...it was a very brutal war that has been erased. The Magic Council cast a spell that is now forbidden that erased everyone's memories of the war. That is why no one remembers it, except for some people. Just talking about it is against the law and knowing about it can lead to imprisonment or death." He continued as Natsu's eyes widened at this new information.

"Hold on a minute...was the war that bad?"

"It wasn't that the war was bad, but the real reason why they erased everyone's memories is because of the things the Magic Council did to fight against Zeref and let's just say that none of those things were moral. They not only used the power of Etherion to fight against him, but they also used it to kill innocent people."

"W-What?"

"When confronted about it, they responded by saying that if they didn't fire it, Zeref would have killed thousands more...but eventually their actions on using Etherion became too suspicious and many people started to question the Magic Council. It was then that they decided to erase everyone's memories and no one ever asked about it again. It was also around the time when they decided to make the law on using Etherion."

"But...to erase so many people's memories...how was that even possible?"

"That spell...it was a spell that was inhaled by everyone through the air. It was kind of like an airborne virus and everyone inhaled it. It's been forbidden now because of that reason." He explained.

"Okay...this is a little too much to process...but I still don't know who this Sekrom is."

"Sekrom was one of these evil wizards that followed Zeref. He was called General Sekrom in the war and he was one of his strongest warriors. However, the reason for that was because of his ability that he was given by Zeref himself."

"Is it these pet thing you were talking about?"

"Yes, Zeref gave Sekrom the power to create these horrible creatures with a very specific type of ability that was feared during the war. They were called, Darkstalkers."

"What was it?"

"The power to easily become someone else."

"Huh? I don't understand."

"To put it simply, these monsters of his are able to enter anyone's body and become that person. They will be able to copy everything of that person, the way they talk, their memories and their magic."

"Ah...but wouldn't anyone know if they were imposters?"

"That's the thing, they wouldn't." Natsu's eyes widened. "The thing about these monsters is that they copy everyone so perfectly that no one can tell if they're imposters or not."

"Wait a minute, you said Sekrom fought in the war, but wasn't that like a long time ago? How is he still alive?"

"When Zeref supposedly died, his followers disappeared. No one knows what happened tot hem, but I think what happened to Zeref, happened to them. Seeing as how you are fighting Zeref, it's safe to assume that Zeref brought him back." He replied. "However, from what I gathered, Sekrom's strength couldn't have possibly returned to full strength and thus was only able to recreate only a few of these Darkstalkers. There is also one more thing, these monsters cannot just control anybody. They are only able to control those with emotions and thoughts that are unstable."

"So, how exactly do I fight these things? If what you're saying is true, then my friends are in danger."

"The first thing we need to do is find out exactly how many of your friends have been taken over by these monsters. This is difficult because your friends think you are dead and thus everyone of them are unstable. Finding out who has been taken over would be difficult. If we know how many of the Darkstalkers he was able to create, then it can increase the chances of us finding out which ones of your friends have been taken over. There is also another way to find out. We just need to know one person that has been traumatized by your death to the extent that the monsters have no choice but to pick them to take over. Anyone come to mind, Natsu?"

"Yeah..." He glared at his teacher as he knew one person who would take his death the hardest.

"Well, that would make things easier. Now, let me explain to you how you can defeat these Darkstalkers, without hurting your friends. You will need these..."

* * *

><p>Erza walked through the streets of Magnolia with a frown on her face. She would occasionally show a smile whenever someone called her to say good morning or how the festival was going. Despite how she was feeling at the moment, she didn't want to disappoint the townsfolk who were looking forward to the festival.<p>

She still felt angry at the things Laxus said and for some reason, she couldn't keep it off of her mind. Was he right? Was she really the cause of Natsu's death? No matter how much anyone told her it wasn't, or how many times she told herself that, she just couldn't deny it. It was her fault. It just hurt her so much. Natsu was dead and it was her fault. She closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip. If only he listened to her and just left. If only he let her deal with her problem by herself. It then dawned on her that if she did, could she have been dead instead of Natsu. That thought made her wish it was her, but she knew thinking such thoughts was wrong beyond belief. Natsu knew what he going to go through when he told her to leave everything to him. Yet, it still made her feel worse because there was a possibility that she was the reason that Natsu was dead.

She still objected to hosting the festival, but she had to admit that what Mirajane said was right. Natsu would have wanted them to not stop the festival. Without Natsu there though, the festival wouldn't be the same and she knew everyone knew that.

"Erza-san!" Erza stopped and turned her head to see a middle age woman walking over to her.

"Ah, good morning." She greeted her with a fake smile that could have fooled almost anyone.

"Yes, good morning to you too. Is everyone at Fairy Tail working hard on this year's Harvest Festival?"

"Yes, everyone is." She replied.

"That's good. I'm really looking forward to this year and for what you all have planned for it."

"We'll make sure to not disappoint."

"I know you won't. Although, my husband keeps bragging about the Miss fairy Tail Pageant...honestly..." She pouted as Erza slightly chuckled.

"Don't worry, we'll make sure to keep it as clean as possible." Erza told her.

"Right, are you going to enter too?" Erza looked down and frowned. She honestly didn't want to do it after Natsu's death. However, there was a part of her that told her to do it so that it can cease the pain even if it is slightly.

"Yes." She eventually answered and the woman smiled.

"That's good, just make sure you don't steal my husband away." She laughed as Erza followed suit.

"Don't worry, I'm definitely sure that won't happen."

"Of course, well I got to be off. Good luck!" The woman waved her hand as Erza did the same. She smiled at the retreating woman's back and was surprised that such small talk could leave her laughing.

'I guess...I should enter after all...'

* * *

><p>"Huh? You mean that Iron Dragon Slayer is a new member too?" Gray asked Juvia as she nodded her head.<p>

"H-Hai, Gray-sama, Master invited him a couple of days ago and he accepted. Although, Juvia is not sure where he is at the moment." She responded.

"Oh well, it's not like I want to see him or anything." Gray responded as Lucy and Happy walked over to them.

"Hey Gray? What is this Miss Fairy Tail pageant thing about?" Lucy asked.

"Huh? Oh that, it's something Fairy Tail hosts every year at the Harvest Festival. Some of the girls participate for either the fun of it or for the money." He answered.

"Huh? Money?" Lucy perked up at the word money.

"Yeah...how much was it again?" He scratched his head trying to remember. "Oh well, I don't remember, but it's a lot so..."

"Hmmm, I wonder if I have a shot...I need money to pay for my rent..." Lucy thought about it.

"Well, if you do plan on participating you are probably going to go up against some strong opponents, unless Erza doesn't participate, which is probably unlikely..." He frowned.

"I see..." Lucy and Happy frowned as well. After a while, Lucy made up her mind. "You know what, I think I'll enter...it might take my mind off of you know what."

"Hmph, well then good luck." He said with a smile, which did not go unnoticed by Juvia.

"Juvia will also enter!" She suddenly said and they looked at her.

"You too?" Gray asked as she nodded her head.

"Hai, Gray-sama!" She then turned to Lucy. "Juvia won't lose to you...my rival in love!"

"R-Right...although I don't think you have to worry about that." Lucy sweat dropped.

"Oh, I think you two should hurry up and enter..." Gray told them and pointed toward the sign that said last entries. They saw that and hurried over to sign up. Gray sighed as Happy hopped onto the table. Gray looked at him and smiled, before petting him on the head. "You doing okay?"

"Yeah...I miss him..."

"Yeah...we all do...but like you and Mira said...he would want us to host the festival and not be sad about his death...that stupid fire breath."

Happy giggled and nodded his head. "Yeah..."

* * *

><p>"Are you sure you're okay?" Gajeel turned his head as he looked at Levy, Jet and Droy.<p>

"Yeah, I'm just peachy..." He told her as he looked badly bruised. "I think you should be worried about those two more." He pointed to Jet and Droy, who were also bruised, but not to the extent of Gajeel. Levy frowned as she looked at the Iron Dragon Slayer with concern.

"We're sorry..." Jet and Droy both said.

"Don't worry about it...it may look bad, but it doesn't feel like it..." He responded.

"But...why would Laxus attack us like that?" Levy asked.

"Didn't you hear him, he said it was because Phantom made the guild look weak and of course he would take his anger out on me." Gajeel explained.

"But, that was taking it too far and he tried attacking us three as well." Jet shouted.

"Yeah, I don't know why he did that, but...something is fishy about that guy...and I have a bad feeling..." Gajeel told them. "I'm heading back to the guild." He told them and just started walking off.

"Ah, hold up!" Levy called after him as she, Jet and Droy ran to catch up.

* * *

><p>"Ladies and gentleman!" Max shouted into his microphone on the stage that was set up in the guild, which was packed full of people. "The Miss Fairy Tail Pageant is about to begin!" The crowed erupted into a roar.<p>

"W-Wow...so many people..." Lucy looked out to the crowd from backstage.

"Well, it's to be expected..." Lucy jumped slightly at the voice from behind her and turned around to see Erza smiling at her.

"E-Erza! A-Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah...I'm doing fine...I see you are entering the pageant..."

"Y-Yeah...I thought it might be fun and help me get my mind off of you know what..." She frowned.

"I understand...that's probably the same reason why I'm participating as well..."

"Oh I see...WHAT!?" Lucy screamed.

"Hmm? What's wrong?" Erza asked confused.

"N-No...nothing..." Lucy chuckled. 'Ah man...now I don't stand a chance...' She thought in disappointment. 'No...' She shook her head. 'I can't think like that! I can do it!' She put on a face filled with determination. Erza was confused at her movements, but smiled when she saw the look of determination on the young blond's face.

"Well, good luck, Lucy." She told her and then left.

"R-Right...you too."

"Our first contestant is the lovely, Miss Cana Alberona!" The crowd erupted when Cana walked onto the front of the stage, hitting a pose. She then activated her magic as cards whirled around her and with a bright light, she was now in a bikini and this made the crowd even more wilder.

"Oh boy..." Lucy sweat dropped at the huge reception Cana got. 'Looks like I have to go all out to win...'

The rest of the participants all went one by one until it was Lucy's turn.

"And finally! Our super rookie! Miss Lucy Hea-!"

"No! Don't say my last name!" She pushed Max aside as he fell on his butt. "Ah, I'm sorry..." She apologized. 'If people knew my dad was rich, then I wouldn't be able to get the money.' Max rubbed his butt and stood up.

"Alright then, give it up for Miss Lucy!" He corrected himself as Lucy walked toward the stage, keys in hand.

"Yosh! I'm going to dance with my Celestial Spirits, she told the crowd as they oooed and awed.

"Number Eight." Everyone made noises of confusion as the owner of the voice appeared on stage.

"Huh? But I'm not done..." Lucy pouted as she turned around to see who stopped her from showing off her skills.

"If you talk about a fairy, it's me. If you talk about beauty, it's me. That's right, it's all me. The champion is me, Evergreen! So, how about we end to contest right here." Evergreen told them as she posed on stage.

"W-What?" Lucy asked in shock.

"What? Evergreen?" Gray said.

"She's back?" Elfman added.

"Huh? But what about my money?" Lucy asked, but then got angry at Evergreen for interrupting her. "Hey, quit playing around! This contest revolves around my living expenses!"

"Lucy! Don't look in her eyes!" Gray suddenly shouted.

"Huh?" She asked in confusion.

"I'm sorry...did you say something little girl?" Evergreen told her and lifted her glasses. Lucy's eyes widened as she was suddenly turned to stone.

"What is that?"

"Stone?"

"Is this some sort of performance?"

"This is bad..." Max gritted his teeth. "Everyone run away!" He shouted and the crowd did just that as they started to escape from the guild.

"Just what do you think you're doing, Evergreen?" Makarov yelled.

"Doesn't a festival have a main show?" She said as she burned down the curtains behind to reveal every participant of the pageant to be turned to stone.

"What!?" Some of the guild members shouted in shock.

"She turned those backstage into stone!" Max shouted.

"Nee-chan!" Elfman shouted.

"They even got Erza!" Happy stated.

"What the hell is the meaning of this!?" Makarov shouted. Suddenly, a lightning bolt struck the stage.

"Oi, you Fairy Tail brats!" Suddenly, Laxus appeared in the form of lightning before turning to his original body. He was then approached by the rest of his team as Bixlow, Fried and Evergreen stood by his side. "The real festival is just about to begin!"

"Laxus!" Makarov growled in anger.

"Bixlow and Fried!" Gray stated the names of the other two mysterious members.

"Why don't we play a game, old geezer?" Laxus told his grandfather.

"Don't do something stupid, Laxus! We have to prepare for Fantasia! Turn them back to normal now!" Makarov ordered.

"Oh come on, old geezer...let's have some fun, after all, Fantasia is later tonight." He smirked. "If we hurry, we might get to see it with the people of this town." Suddenly, lightning appeared above Lucy.

"No! Don't do it!" Makarov yelled as the lightning bolt struck down, but missed Lucy and hit the stage next to her. Everyone let out a sigh of relief. Laxus then put an arm over Lucy's shoulders.

"If you don't mind, I'll take these girls hostages." He told everyone as Makarov glared at him. "I'll destroy them one by one if any of you break the rules, like I said this is the main show." He told them.

"There are things that can't be taken as a joke, Laxus." Makarov told him.

"Of course, that's why I'm serious." He responded.

"Do not panic, all this is is a game..." Fried began.

"...to see who is Fairy Tail's strongest!" Bixlow finished as everyone's eyes widened.

"The rules are simple...the last survivor wins! Fairy Tail fight starts now!"

"You bastard...doing this after you know what has befallen our guild!" Makarov yelled.

"Hahahaha! Oh please...aren't you the same...having a festival right after Natsu's death...it's almost like your celebrating his death instead of honoring it!" Laxus laughed.

"You bastard!" Gray shouted in anger as he had just about enough of Laxus.

"No need to get so angry Gray, all you have to do is win and everything will return back to normal." Laxus told him.

"Exactly, once you win, then we'll turn all the girls back to normal." Evergreen added.

"There's four us and about a hundred of you...aaaahhhhhh! We are at a total disadvantage! Gyahahaha!" Bixlow laughed.

"The time limit is three hours." Evergreen told them. "If you cannot defeat us before time runs out, then these girls...will be turned to sand."

"Whaaaaat?"

"Are you serious?"

"You are taking this too far!"

"Laxus..." Makarov shook in disbelief.

"The battlefield covers all of Magnolia." Fried added. "The moment you find anyone, the battle begins."

"DON'T SCREW WITH ME!" Makarov erupted a she grew five times his size.

"Calm down, old geezer. Let's just enjoy this little entertainment." Laxus responded and lifted his finger, which then resulted in a flash of light that blinded everyone.

"So bright!"

"Let the battle of Fairy Tail begin!" Laxus voice echoed throughout the guild as he and the others disappeared.

"H-He's gone..."

"Playing hiding and seek like a coward!"

"That idiot..." Makarov muttered.

"Nghhhhh! I gotta save Nee-chan and the others!" Elfman roared his battle cry as he ran toward the exit.

"Damn these assholes!" The others followed suit.

"Capture Laxus!"

"Hell, I'm going to smash him to pieces!"

"How dare he look down on us!"

"Bisca..." Alzack muttered as he looked at her. "I'll save you no matter what!"

"Damn that brat!" Makarov ran along with the others. "I'll put him in his place!" He continued to run until he hit something hard. "Ow! What the hell is this!?"

"Gramps! What are you doing?" Gray asked.

"I'm not doing anything! I can't go any further! There is like an invisible wall here." He replied.

"What? There is now wall here!" Gray stated as he touched the air and nothing happened.

"Ngghhhh...but I can't get through!"

"What?" Gray tried pulling him through, but it was too no avail. Then, writing began to appear in the air. Gray noticed it. "What's that?"

"This is...Fried's enchantments...!?" Makarov asked.

"Enchantment?" Gray asked.

"A form of barrier." He replied. "Look."

_Rule: Those above the age of 80, and stone statues, may not pass._

"What the hell is this magic? It's like some kid saying 'it's because I said so' and it's working!" Gray yelled in shock.

"It takes time to cast an enchantment like this and even thought it's pretty much useless in battle, it can be used to set up a trap." Makarov stated.

"So, it's because of this magic, you won't be able to get out?" Gray asked.

"It appears so, unless you defeat Fried, this barrier won't be removed." Gray clenched his fists.

"These bastards...doing this...after what happened to Natsu...I can't forgive them! Don;t worry Gramps, I'll handle this..." Gray told him.

"Wait!"

"I don't care if he's your grandson, Gramps. I'm going to defeat Laxus!" Gray told him before running off toward the town. Makarov watched him as he disappeared. A smirk then was placed on his face.

'Looks like everything is going according to plan, just like Zeref said...'

* * *

><p>The battle to determines Fairy Tail's strongest waged on as the city of Magnolia became a battlefield, although unknown to many of the civilians. About an half an hour into the fight, out of all the members who participated, the numbers went down by 15. Unexpectedly, Gajeel was not able to participate because he couldn't get past the barrier for some strange reason.<p>

"My, this is such a pity..." Makarov, Gajeel and Reedus, who stayed behind because he was scared of Laxus turned their heads to see Evergreen return as she stood on the stage.

"Evergreen!" Makarov yelled. "Stop this foolishness!"

"Sorry, Master...but I can't go against Laxus..." She told him. "To be honest, I wasn't planning on coming back, but I thought I take one of these hostages with me."

"What!?" Makarov yelled.

"Come on, Mirajane..." She said, ignoring Makarov and grabbed Mirajane's stone figure. She then suddenly disappeared.

"What the hell is she doing?" Makarov gritted his teeth. "Damn them!"

Evergreen floated across town, with Mirajane's body, with help of Friend changing his enchantment for her for a brief second, and was noticed by Elfman. "Evergreen! What do you think you're doing with Nee-chan!?"

"Oh? If you want to know, then come catch me!" She smirked as Elfman roared and ran after her.

"Nee-chan!"

* * *

><p>The battle continued on and ten more guild members had fallen, including Gray who lost to Bixlow. Elfman managed to catch up to Evergreen, but unfortunately lost easily due to Evergreen's quick thinking and holding Mirajane hostage. During this time, however, Erza was able to somehow escape from Evergreen's spell.<p>

"W-What?" Erza asked as she looked at her hands in shock.

"Erza!" Makarov yelled. "How are you?"

"I don't know..." She replied. "Maybe...it's just a guess, but it might be because of my fake eye." She told him.

"I see..." He understood. "Listen, I don't have time to explain, but..."

"I know...I heard everything..." She told him as she clenched her hands and stood up. "Don't worry Master! I'll deal with Laxus!"

"Yeah, but listen, we have a different problem now." Makarov told her. "Evergreen...she took Mirajane..."

"Yeah...I know...I was planning on heading to rescue her first and then dealing with Laxus...I won't let them do this to us...not after what happened to Natsu...this time...this I will make sure to protect all my friends!" Erza stated.

Makarov nodded his head as Reedus smiled. "Alright! Go for it, Erza! You're our only hope."

"I understand, Master!" With that, she rushed off. Makarov looked at her and made a slight smirk.

'Now then...this is where the fun begins...'

Erza jumped from rooftop to rooftop as she saw the destruction this game caused. 'Damn you Laxus...doing this after Natsu's...I won't forgive you!' She continued to jump until she finally found Evergreen. Oddly though, there was no sight of Mirajane. "Evergreen!" She screamed as she landed in front of her.

"Oh my...looks like you escaped my enchantment...Erza..." She greeted the scarlet knight, with a fan in front of her mouth. "I'm curious...how did you do it?"

"Never mind that! Where is Mira!?" She demanded.

"Mira?" She said as if she was confused. "Oh...why don't you ask her yourself."

"W-What?" Erza asked, but didn't realize the presence of someone behind her before it was too late. She was barely able to turn as she was struck rather hard in the gut. She was smashed into the fountain in the town square and broke it, before sliding to a stop on the ground. "Uggghhh..." Erza groaned in pain as she tried lifting her head after feeling as if she was hit by a truck. Her eyes widened when she saw who her assailant was. "M-Mira..."

In front of her stood Mirajane, but unlike the sweet and nice version of her, it was the demon take over form of hers: Stan Soul. "Erza..."

"M-Mira...your powers...they're back...but how..." Erza asked in shock. However, Mirajane did not care for small talk as she grabbed Erza's throat, lifting her up and smashing her against another building. Erza screamed in pain as she spat out blood. Mirajane then let go of her and followed her attack by whipping her tail and sending her tot he ground hard.

Erza didn't understand. Why was Mirajane attacking her? Shouldn't she be helping her attack Evergreen? "Erza..." The scarlet knight heard her name as she opened her eyes to see Mirajane standing next to her, glaring down.

"Mira...why...why are you attacking me? We should work together and defeat-" She didn't get to finish as Mirajane tried to slash Erza, but she quickly dodged out of the way. She dropped to a knee and glared at her. "Mira! Calm down!"

"Shut up!" She yelled and charged at her with a flap of her wings. Erza was shocked at the speed and didn't have time to dodge as her throat was once again grabbed and smashed into another building. Erza screamed in pain again as Mirajane's hand clenched around her through viciously.

"M-Mira..." Erza managed to croak out as she was losing air.

"It's your fault..." Erza's eyes widened at her words.

"W-What?"

"It's your fault...Natsu's dead because of you..." Erza's eyes widened in horror as she saw Natsu's scarf around Mirajane's neck.

"No...it wasn't..." She tried talking some sense into her former rival.

"Liar!" Mirajane roared.

"Nee-chan...what are you doing?" Both woman turned their heads to see Elfman leaning against a building, looking at his sister in shock.

"Elfman..." Erza groaned.

"This doesn't concern you, Elfman..." His sister told him.

"Like hell it doesn't!" He yelled. "Why are you attacking Erza!?"

"Because it's her fault!" She screamed in response. "It's her fault that Natsu is dead...it's her fault..." She said that last part almost as if she was crying. Erza was in shock. Why as she acting like this? Did she and Natsu have some sort of special bond neither she or anyone else know about?

"Your delusional, Nee-chan!" Elfman tried to reason with her. "It wasn't Erza's fault!"

"Shut up! It's her fault and she's going to pay!" Mirajane yelled back as Elfman was completely stunned by her actions.

"But, she didn't..."

"Your right..." Elfman and Mirajane looked at Erza as she had her eyes closed. Mirajane then felt something wet on her hand and saw that it was the scarlet knight's tears.

"Erza..." Elfman looked at her in shock.

"Natsu's dead because of me...it was me who was supposed to die...not Natsu..." 'What am I saying?' "If it wasn't for me, Natsu would have still be alive and I would have been dead. It's all my fault." 'Why am I saying this?'

"No! It wasn't your fault Erza! I don't know what happened, but I know for sure that you didn't kill him." Elfman tried to reason with her.

"No...it is my fault...I brought so much pain to everyone that it's just making me feel worse and worse just thinking about it." She continued as Mirajane continued to glare at her. "You have every right to be angry with me, Mira...I'm so sorry..."

"Your sorry? Sorry won't bring him back to life!" Mirajane yelled in response.

"I know...I know nothing I say or do will bring him back to life...but I'm really sorry...I am the worst type of person there is...I couldn't even solve my own problems and because of that...Natsu is dead..."

"Erza..." Elfman muttered in shock.

"You have every right to hit me. I will take everything you have to offer to quell your anger, Mira. It's the least I could do." She cried as she said those words. Mirajane stared at her.

"Fine then!" Mirajane shouted and pulled back her hand.

"No, Nee-chan!" Elfman tried to get to his sister as her hand slowly heading to Erza. Erza closed her eyes as she was prepared to take whatever punishment Mira was going to give her. She waited, but nothing happened. She was confused. "No...way..." She heard Elfman say and then she started opening her eyes. When she caught a glimpse of pink, she immediately opened her eyes and they widened in shock as the man she thought was dead was now standing in between her and Mirajane, holding Mirajane's wrist.

"N-N-Natsu..." Erza mouthed out. He didn't say anything. All she could see was his head down, and hair covering his eyes. Instead of lifting his head, he suddenly turned around to face Mirajane.

"You bastard! Get out of her body!" He screamed and then with punched Mirajane in the gut. 'Sorry, Mira...' He apologized for hitting her. Erza and Elfman watched as a bright light suddenly shined behind Mirajane and then next thing they saw was a black monster come out of her body and onto the ground, crying out as if he was in pain. Mirajane returned her body to normal as Natsu caught her before she fell tot he ground. He put his arm around her shoulders and leaned her against his chest as he looked down at her face. Erza slid down to the ground and just stared in shock at Natsu's back. The Darkstalker continued to cry out in pain. Natsu frowned at Mirajane, but blinked when he suddenly saw her start to open her eyes.

Mirajane only managed to open them halfway, but when she saw Natsu's smiling face, she felt happiness fill her chest. "N-Natsu...is that you...?" She asked.

"Yeah...it's me..." She giggled slightly as she raised her hand to touch his cheek. When she felt his warm skin against her hand, she knew he was back. He was alive and that made her extremely happy.

"Your late..." She whispered.

"I know...I'm sorry..." She smiled and her cheeks became a rosy color before she lost consciousness. Natsu frowned at this and then lifted his head to stare at the Darkstalker a she was no longer screaming in pain. (Picture the Darkstalker as the Alien from Aliens, but completely made of darkness)

"Wryaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!" The Darkstalker roared as he swayed side to side.

"Natsu...how are you..." He heard Erza behind him.

"Erza...there is something I need to talk to you about...but right now...there is a big problem...once this is all over, we'll talk and I'll tell you everything that happened in the tower and what happened after...including Jellal." Erza's eyes widened. He then stood up, carrying Mirajane in his arms. He looked over at Elfman. "Hey Elfman, I need you to take your sister so that I can defeat this disgusting thing." Elfman was frozen for a moment, before he nodded his head and ran over to him. Natsu handed Elfman's sister to him. Elfman took her into his arms, looked down at her, eye's widened at her tears before looking at Natsu.

He smiled at him. "Natsu..."

"Don't worry...she's going to be okay..." He reassured him and then turned to face the Darkstalker. "Alright, you disgusting piece of trash!" Natsu pounded his fists together. "Let's go!" He ignited his hands and then disappeared. The Darkstalker searched the area for the disappearing Dragon Slayer, but saw that he was no where to be found. A shadow then appeared from above and it looked up. "Take this!" Natsu clutched both of his flaming hands together and smashed the Darkstalker's head to the ground, cracking the ground beneath it.

"Wryaaaahhhh!" The monster screamed in pain as it lifted it's head and took steps back, feeling dizzy.

"Not done!" Natsu shouted and increased the flame in one of his hands. "Fire Dragon's Fist!" He punched the Darkstalker in the face. "And this!" He charged once again and initiated several different blows before getting into position for his final attack as the Darkstalker was now in the air. "Too bad for you, you are going to be my warm up...Crimson Lotus..." Erza's and Elfman's eyes widened as Natsu's flames turned green. "...Exploding Flame Blade...of Etherion!" Green blades of fire connected with the Darkstalker as each one exploded upon contact, leaving behind a huge explosion that burn the monster into ash.

Anyone who was remaining in the contest looked at the green flame and their eyes widened in shock. They all had the same feeling and knew exactly who's flames they belonged to. Makarov witnessed the flames and gritted his teeth without letting Gajeel or Reedus see him. 'Damn him...he's back...Zeref was right...Natsu Dragneel is still alive...and he's found a way to defeat my creations!' Hen then smirked. 'Too bad, the fun is only getting started...'

**To Be Continued...**

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><p><strong>Author's Notes: <strong>...It seems that many of you hate me now for last chapter...I'm sorry...no, nothing I say will make you forgive me for that and for updating after so damn long...I shall tie myself to a tree outside and starve for a week for your forgiveness...and with that, I'm off to get rope!

I'll try my best to update quicker, but with school work getting tougher and more stuff is being handed to me to do, it might be hard to do so. So, until next time! By the way, if you're wondering about the missing letters in the letter in the beginning of the chapter, they are meant to be like that.

Happy belated Thanksgiving to everyone who celebrates it!

P.S. I just found some rope...yosh! Time to starve! *I'm just kidding in case some of you think I'm being serious...*


	25. Natsu and Co VS Darkstalkers Part 1

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related which includes the characters of Fairy Tail.

**Rated M! You have been warned!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 25: Natsu and Co Vs The Darkstalkers Part 1<strong>

Erza and Elfman watched in amazement as the green flames dispersed, leaving no traces of that monster. They were in awe. Natsu turned around and started to walk back toward them. He had his head down the entire walk and when he stopped in front of them, he put on a goofy smile. "Yo! Sorry for making everyone worry."

"Natsu…" Erza whispered. "…h-how are you…w-what happened?"

"I'll explain everything later, Erza. First things first, I have to tell you guys what's happening." He told her. Erza wanted him to answer her question, but after seeing that monster, she knew that it had to wait. She nodded her head.

"Alright, I can wait." Natsu nodded and smiled.

"Okay…where to begin…" He thought about which route to take in his explanation.

"I guess you can start by what that thing was and what it was doing inside of Mira." Erza offered.

"Yeah…I guess that should work…" He agreed and then looked over at Elfman and his older sister, frowning at the white haired mage. "That monster is known as a Darkstalker."

"A Darkstalker?" They both repeated as Natsu nodded.

"From what I can understand from his explanation, these monsters can take over someone's body and have the ability to completely become the person they take over. They can talk like them, act like them and even use their magic the same way, almost as if there was nothing wrong with them." Erza and Elfman were shocked. "There is also one other thing, apparently, the Darkstalkers can only take over people who are emotionally unstable." He then frowned. "It's because of me this happening."

"No…it's not because of you, Natsu." Erza reassured him. "It was our mistake for assuming you were dead…"

"No…" He stopped her. "…don't blame this on yourself. You guys had no choice, but to assume that I was dead." He told her. "Besides, all we have to do is defeat these guys and everything will be back to normal." He grinned. She smiled. She felt warm inside at seeing the familiar grin. He was back. He was alive. It took all her strength to not run up and touch him. To see for herself that it was really him that was standing there, talking to them as if nothing happened. "Alright, then..." He suddenly said as he rummaged through his pockets.

"What are you doing?" Erza asked curiously.

"Hold on...damn it...where are they...ah, here they are!" Natsu took out what looked like gem stones that gave off this weird blueish color.

"What are those?" Elfman asked.

"These are...ummm...I'm not really sure, but I was told that these stones can help us fight against the bastards." Natsu explained.

"How?" Erza asked as Natsu handed her one of the stones.

"Something about these stones emitting some sort of magic that the Darkstalkers are weak against. These are used to remove the Darkstalkers from people's body. However, you can only use the stones once and they won't work that easily."

"Huh? But you were able to remove one easily." Erza said.

"Oh that was by luck." He said grinning.

"Luck?" Erza and Elfman both asked.

"Well, I wanted to test one out and luckily it worked. At first I couldn't believe it because the guy who gave me these said it wouldn't work unless you weaken the person who the Darkstalker is possessing. It also lets your attacks affect them because not only do they get removed from the person, but the stone gets embedded into them and that makes them vulnerable to our attacks. Otherwise, our attacks won't have any effect and render useless." He replied. "I doubt luck will happen again so it's best if we make sure to weaken everyone before using the stone. If you don't then you would waste the stone and unfortunately I don't have an unlimited supply."

"Alright, I understand." Erza nodded her head.

"Good." He smiled at her. "Elfman, I think it would be best if you take Mira somewhere safe and protect her in case they try to possess her again."

"Right! As a man, I will protect my sister!" He roared and Natsu grinned.

"My, my...isn't this a happy reunion." The three turned their heads up to see Evergreen sitting with her right leg over her left on the edge of one of the buildings. "To think that you were still alive, Natsu."

"Evergreen..." Erza growled in anger as she glared at the woman who dared to defy the Master and their guild.

"Hahaha, I like that look you're giving me Erza...it shows so much anger..." She laughed.

"You..."

"Calm down, Erza. She's being manipulated." Natsu told her.

"Huh? You mean that she's..." Natsu nodded.

"Most likely..."

"I see..." She looked down at the stone and clenched it tightly. "Then, I'll handle her." She told them and stepped in front of them.

"Alright, just remember, you only have one chance to use the stone." Natsu warned her again.

"Right!" Erza replied with a smile and a nod of the head.

"Oh and one more thing..." He leaned forward and whispered something in her ear. Erza's eyes widened as Natsu pulled back and turned to Elfman.

"Let's go." Elfman nodded and then they took off, leaving Erza and Evergreen to look at each other, one with amusement and the other with anger.

"You know if you can't beat me...I'll have to dispose of Natsu, Elfman and Mira myself." Evergreen told her, smirking.

"Like hell I'll let you!" Erza shouted and equipped herself with a sword as she ran toward Evergreen. Evergreen smirked as dropped down to the ground and in a flash was in front of Erza. 'Shit, she's fast!' Erza barely blocked a kick from Evergreen as she lifted her sword.

"You're too slow, Erza." She stated and closed the distance between her and Erza and landed a kick to Erza's rib area, the blow being weakened by her armor. Erza slid to a stop and looked up to see Evergreen once again heading in her direction. This time, Erza decided to go on the offensive and swung her sword. Her eyes widened when she saw Evergreen gracefully dodged the sword and then landed another kick in the gut.

"Gah!" Erza grunted, sliding to a stop once again. Despite the armor, the last kick hurt, a lot. She placed an arm on the spot where the kick landed and raised her head to see Evergreen flipping her fan open. She smirked and covered the lower half of her head with fan.

"I'm sorry...did that hurt..."

"You..." Erza growled and then equipped into a different armor. Evergreen eyes slightly widened at her new armor.

"A...cat?"

"It's not a cat!" Erza screamed as she equipped into her Flight Armor. "It's a Cheetah!"

"They're both cats so what makes the difference." She replied.

"Hmph, I'll show you." With one step, Erza's speed increased so high to the point that Evergreen didn't see Erza's sword coming at her until the final moment. Using her own speed, she dodged the sword by backing away from it. "So, you gained some speed."

"Oh really? It looked like to me you were barely able to dodge my sword." Erza smirked as Evergreen scowled.

"Don't get so cocky...little pussy cat." Evergreen snapped her fan back to normal and then raised her arms. She crossed her arms in front of her and then in one swift motion, extended her arms out. "Fairy Machine Gun: Leprechaun." Hundreds of needles were shot at Erza. In response to the attack, Erza used her new found speed to dodge all the needles and moved towards Evergreen. However, she was already on the move as she had wings grow from her back and was now flying in the air while continuing to shoot out the needles at her.

Erza continued to move and dodge the needles, but when one of the grazed her shoulder slightly, she realized that the needles were moving faster. In response, she decided to kick her own speed up a notch, but the needles soon caught up and even surpassed her speed. What was worse was that she was not getting close to her opponent. She tried to go faster, but even she knew she couldn't and then one of the needles connected with her shoulder, which was then followed by more needles, exploding among contact.

Evergreen continued to lash out her attack and a large smoke cloud shrouded the area. She then stopped, figuring she must have won the fight. Suddenly, a beam of lightning was shot out from the smoke cloud and towards Evergreen. She dodged it and looked down to see Erza standing there with a brand new armor. She wasn't sure when she equipped into her Lightning Empress Armor, but she assumed it was during her barrage where some of her needles might have missed her.

'She's not only fast, but she also got stronger...' Erza thought as she glared up at her. 'I assume it's the Darkstalker inside of her...looks like this will be more difficult than I thought.'

"It's a shame that I already haven't beaten you yet, but...it's only a matter of time before I end this fight and go after your friends." Erza gasped when she saw something black in her eyes. She wasn't sure exactly what that was, but she had a pretty good guess on what it was. Regardless, she had to take the upper hand in this fight. Clenching her spear, she lashed out multiple lightning beams that were easily dodged by Evergreen's quickness. "That won't work." She winked and waved her hands. The needles appeared once again, but this time, Erza used her lightning beams to counter and the two attacks exploded upon contact in the air.

Evergreen then dashed into the smoke cloud, Erza doing the same, and as Erza went in for a stab, Evergreen put her fan in front of her. The sword stabbed through the fan, but created enough resistance that didn't allow it to go too deep past it. Closing the fan, she spun around in mid-air and rotated her arms so that Erza spun around and was sent crashing back to the ground. Erza stood back up and glared at her. 'Damn...there has to be something I can do...' She knew she had to do something or else she wouldn't last long.

Evergreen smirked as she dropped her fan and pulled out a new one and opened it, flapping it against her face. "Looks like this is disappointing...I guess I'll just finish you off right here and now...and then I'll go after Natsu and those other two." She licked her lips and it angered Erza to no end.

"I won't let you!"

"Oh...and what are you going to do about it...weakling?" That word stung Erza really hard as memories of what happened at the tower resurfaced. Natsu was back, but that still did not change the fact that she felt weak. She hate to admit it, but she knew she was weak and not even Natsu's return made her think otherwise. "Oh, how the mighty have fallen…" Evergreen continued. "You're a disappointment of a mage, Erza. It'll be a pleasure killing you!" She suddenly dove down toward the scarlet knight. Small clouds of fairy dust appeared out of her body and exploded in a bright flash that caused Erza to cover her eyes. She then felt a strong blow from behind her as Evergreen kicked her in the back and sent her into one of the houses, luckily unoccupied by anyone. "Fairy Bomb: Gremlin!" Dust particles surrounded the house that Erza was in and she ignited them to cause a large explosion.

The building was no longer standing in it's rightful place. The explosion that occurred tore the building apart as flames flicked back and forth against the wind. Evergreen smirked at the sight. She quietly turned around and started to walk away from the building. A sudden jolt at the back of her foot alerted Evergreen as electricity went up her body. She screamed in pain at the electricity that coursed through her body. She gritted her teeth and slowly turned her head around.

"This fight is not over..." Erza growled as she was now glaring at her opponent. Blood trickled down her forehead, temple, the corner of her mouth and shoulder as she stood in the center of the destroyed building. The electricity that was hurting Evergreen was seen all over the floor of the area they were in and the source that it all came from was Erza's spear that was pointed at the ground. "I got you now..." She smirked as Evergreen was paralyzed in place. She quickly reequipped into her Morning Star Armor and raised her dual swords in front of her. She started to charge her magic power at the tip of her dual swords. When she was fully charged, she fired her Photon Slicer. Evergreen's eyes widened as she felt the attack her hit. She screamed loudly at the pain. Erza only watched as an explosion occurred. She fell to one knee and raised her arm up to cover her eyes from the dust.

When the dust moved away from her, she lowered her arm and looked at the large dust and smoke cloud that formed around the area Evergreen was hit with the Photon Slicer. Her breathing was heavy, so she took the time she had to try and get it under control. She knew the fight was not over, but she was glad that she was able to at least deal some heavy damage to Evergreen and hopefully to that Darkstalker that was possessing her.

"Wryaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!" Erza grunted and placed her hands to her ears at the horrible and loud scream, her swords falling to the ground.

"What the hell is that?" She wondered, opening one of her eyes halfway. She lifted her head slightly and looked at where the dust and smoke cloud was. She was able to see a silhouette of someone, but it still was not clear enough to know what it was. With a swipe of the hand, the cloud of dust and smoke was blown away and Erza's eyes widened. There was Evergreen, but it was no longer the fellow guild mate she knew. It almost looked like she turned to a half demon monster, kind of like Mirajane's Take Over Magic. Her eyes were dark, similar to what see saw before, and parts of her body had these weird black markings all over on any skin that was visible.

"Wryaaaaaaaahhhhhh!" That same screech was heard coming from Evergreen;s mouth as Erza had a pretty good guess on what was going on.

'It must be that Darkstalker...' Erza thought as she grabbed her swords. She clenched the tightly, but before she could get anywhere near ready for a second round, she was swatted away by a strong hand. Erza spat out blood as she slammed into the broken fountain once again. 'W-What!? That was so fast...d-don't tell me it wasn't using it's full power in the first place...' She grunted, telling her body to get up. Luckily, she was still able to move and sat up. She used one of her swords to get back to her feet and looked at the Darkstalker. The monster was glaring at her through Evergreen's eyes, looking at Era as if he was the hunter and she was his prey. 'No...I can't become the prey...I have to be the hunter...' Erza stood up. She raised her swords and placed them in front of her to fire another Photon Slicer.

"Wryahhh!" Before Erza could even charge up her attack, the Darkstalker moved so quickly that Erza didn't even have the chance to try and tighten her stomach to weaken the knee blow that the monster landed. Erza bent forward and spat out blood. Gritting her teeth, she used whatever strength she was able to gather up, and swung her sword at the Darkstalker. Unfortunately, the sword was grabbed easily by Evergreen's hand. Erza's eyes widened as she was lifted off from the ground. She was twirled around and around above Evergreen and then slammed down to the ground face first.

"Gah!" Erza screamed in pain as she hit her head hard. She screamed pain as he entire body was in pain. The pain was almost unbearable. She could feel the presence of the Darkstalker above her. She tried to get away, but her body was not listening to her. She then felt Evergreen's foot pressed down against her head, pushing it deeper into the ground. 'Damn it...why am I so weak...I can't even save a nakama...why can't I be as strong as Natsu...' Her eyes slightly widened when she remembered something that he told her before leaving. She looked straight ahead and barely was able to see the stone that Natsu gave her to fight this Darkstalker monster. She used all the strength she had left to reach out for the stone. 'Come on...almost there...' She was so close to the stone that it felt like the tip of her fingers was barely touching it.

The Darkstalker saw what she was doing and took it's foot off her head and went to go slam it down on her hand, but the moment it let go of her head, Erza swiped the stone and rolled out of the way as the monster slammed it's foot to the ground, cracking the ground. Erza continued to roll and clenched the stone in her hand. She peeked over to the monster and saw that it was already coming at her. Whatever idea she had, she knew she had to do it quickly because of the monsters speed. Not knowing exactly what will happen, she gulped and then took the stone and stabbed herself with it. She screamed in pain as blood oozed out of the wound she self inflicted with the stone. She closed her eyes at the pain, but also because she felt something else enter her body as well. She opened her eyes abruptly when she felt the Darkstalker above her. She watched as time slowed down. The monster slowly descended down toward her, aiming to punch Erza deeper into the ground.

Suddenly, a burst of magic erupted out of Erza that fire upwards toward the Darkstalker. The monster screamed in pain as the magic was actually hurting him. The monster moved out of the way of the magic light and roared in pain. "Wryaaaah!"

"Stupid Natsu..." The Darkstalker that was possessing Evergreen looked forward and roared once again as it saw Erza on her feet, enveloped by the bright green light. Erza smirked as she remembered what Natsu told her before leaving.

_"Whatever you do, don't do anything stupid like stabbing yourself with the stone. It contains very poisonous magic that could kill you. So promise me you won't do anything stupid like that."_

Erza laughed. "If you didn't want me to do it...then why tell me in the first place." Her smirked widened as she glared at the Darkstalker possessing one of her guild mates with new determination.

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><p>Natsu and Elfman, continued to run in the streets as Natsu looked around for the other members of the Thunder God Tribe. Elfman on the hand was trying to find a good place to let his sister rest. They both stopped when a bright green light appeared behind them. They turned around and looked up to the see the large beam of magic. "W-What is that?" Elfman asked.<p>

"Oh man..." Natsu groaned as he rubbed the back of his head. "Looks like Erza did what I told her not to do."

"Huh?"

He sighed. "It's nothing. Come on, let's go find some place to leave Mira." Elfman nodded his head. 'Erza...that magic is poisonous...I know you will come out of this alive...but...still...don't you dare die on me...I don't want to re-live that future...'

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><p>Erza glared at the Darkstalker. Along with her new found power, she equipped herself into her Black Wing Armor. Without a second to waste, she flapped her wings and accelerated very quickly towards the monster. The Darkstalker went to try and grab her sword, but it wasn't fast enough. Erza slash at the monster. No cut appeared on Evergreen's body, but the Darkstalker cried out in pain. Erza looked down at her sword and saw that it was surrounded by that green colored magic and she smirked.<p>

"Now, I've got you...you bastard!" She screamed and connected with several different slashes that once again did not leave a wound on Evergreen, but dealt damage to the monster. The Darkstalker jumped away from the Scarlet Knight and used Evergreen's magic to get itself up in the air. Erza followed suit and she started to slash at the monster in an aerial combat that she was winning easily. She just continued to slash at the monster and effectively hurting him. "Get out of her body, you bastard! Moon Flash!" Erza rushed forward and slashed at the Darkstalker in a cross pattern.

"Wryaaahhhh!" The monster screamed as it slipped out of her Evergreen's body. Erza rushed over to catch Evergreen before she fell to the ground and lowered herself down. She placed her fellow guild mate down to the ground and then looked up at the real form of the Darkstalker. The monster glared at Erza as the Scarlet Knight walked past Evergreen and glared back. "Wryaaaaahhh!" The monster screamed and fired a beam of compressed dark magic. Erza swung her sword to deflect the attack as it dissipated up in the sky. "Wryaaahhh!" The Darkstalker knew it was in trouble and took some steps back.

"Alright you vulgar thing! It's time to finish this!" Erza screamed and rushed forward. The Darkstalker tried to swipe it's hand against Erza to stop her from attacking him, but she spun around to evade the hand. Her sword glowed a bright green color and she delivered her Moon Flash. The monster screamed in pain as her attack was enough to defeat the monster as it started to slowly disintegrate from the poisonous green colored magic. It let out one final scream before the Darkstalker was defeated and gone. Erza sighed as she returned her armor to her Heart Kreuz armor. "I did it..." She smiled to herself as she thought about the fight. She knew if it wasn't for what Natsu told her, she wouldn't have won, but despite all of that, this victory was something she needed and she was glad she got it. She turned around to look at Evergreen as she laid down on the ground unconscious. She took one step and suddenly felt this sickening feeling in her stomach. She put a hand to her mouth and suddenly coughed up blood. 'This...it must be the magic I absorbed from that stone...' She fell to her knees and coughed up blood once again. She felt her strength slowly getting zapped away from her as she fell to the ground. Her breathing was becoming heavy and she could feel her eyes slowly closing. Before they fully closed, she saw a pair of feet in front of her. Then, darkness took over.

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><p>"Will she be safe here?" Elfman asked.<p>

Natsu nodded. "Yeah. Plus you'll be here so she'll be safer." He told him.

"Yeah..." He frowned as he looked down at his older sister.

"What's wrong?" Natsu asked, seeing Elfman depressed about something.

"Nothing..." Natsu looked at him and then reached for something in his pocket.

"Hey, Elfman, catch!" Elfman turned around and caught whatever Natsu threw at him. He opened his hand and saw a similar stone that he gave to Erza. "You're a man right! Than protect your sister like any manly man would do!" He grinned.

Elfman looked at Natsu and smiled, clenching the stone in his hand. "Right! I am the manliest of all men!" Natsu nodded his head in agreement.

"Alright, good luck! I have to go find the others!" He told him. Elfman nodded. Natsu took one last glance at Mirajane before walking out of the house. 'Wait for me Mira...I'll kick everyone's ass and then the guild will once again be back to normal.'

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><p>Gajeel, Happy and Makarov looked up and their eyes widened when they saw the enchantment tell them that the battle between Erza and Evergreen was won by Erza. Happy cheered excitedly, flying up and down, celebrating. Gajeel only stared as Makarov hid a menacing glare as Sekrom was pissed off at the loss of two of his Darkstalkers.<p>

"Huh?" The three turned around and saw that all the members that were turned to stone reverted back to normal. "W-What's going on?" Lucy asked, looking around.

"Lucy!" Happy cried as he flew toward her and hugged her.

"It's good to see you are all okay." Makarov told them as he and Gajeel approached them.

"Master...what's going on?" Levy asked. Makarov told them everything and they were all left surprised.

"The battle of Fairy Tail..." Lucy said in shock.

"I can't believe Laxus would actually do something like this." Cana sighed and put her chin on her hand as she sat on the stage.

"Either way, now that you are all free, Laxus does not have the leverage anymore. He can't possibly keep up this ridiculous game anymore." Makarov told them.

"This is stupid even for him! Laxus should be punished; we can't tolerate this!" Bisca responded, clenching her fist.

"You're damn right! Once this is over, I plan to teach that boy a lesson!" Makarov added, stomping his foot.

Suddenly, the entire hall was suddenly covered in skull and crossbones with a lightning bolt going over one of the eyes. "What is this?" Lucy asked.

"Can you hear me, old man...and everyone else from the Guild..." Laxus' voice was heard.

"That's Laxus!" Levy told everyone.

"It looks like we've lost one of our rules...so I'm going to instate a new one. So, to keep this battle of Fairy Tail moving, I've activated the Hall of Thunder." Makarov's eyes widened in horror, but deep down, Sekrom was smirking.

"The Hall of Thunder!?"

"Only one hour and ten minutes remain...Do you think you can defeat us? Or will you play nice and retire, Master?" Laxus laughed.

"What on earth are you thinking Laxus? Are you trying to get innocent civilians involved?" Makarov roared in rage.

"Hahahaha! Then all you have to do is retire and I will spare everyone in this town and maybe the weaklings that made this guild as weak as it is..." Laxus continued.

"Damn you, Laxus!" Cana screamed. "Don't listen to him, Master! Don't-"

"Fine." Everyone's eyes widened as they looked at the Master.

"M-Master! What are you saying!?" Cana screamed.

"I can't allow Laxus to involve innocent people! I don't like doing this, but I have no choice!" Makarov told her.

"But Erza is out there, right? She can stop Laxus!" Lucy responded.

"Erza? Hahahahaha! Too bad for you, but she's unconscious!" Laxus laughed as everyone's eyes widened.

"No..." Lucy shook in fear.

"If that is what you have chosen, then name me the new master of this Guild now!" Laxus roared. Makarov clenched his fists as he knew he had to give in to the maniacs demands. Sekrom, however, was all for it as he knew that by giving Laxus the position of Master, the everyone in the guild will be unstable.

"Fine Laxus...you win...I hereby res-" Before Makarov could finish, a large explosion occurred just outside the hall as the enchantment that was blocking the way for Gajeel and Makarov to pass through was destroyed.

"W-What? What's going on?" Lucy asked as she covered her eyes from debris and dust.

"This smell..." Gajeel said as he sniffed the air. "Heh...I knew he wasn't dead...that fire breathing bastard!" Gajeel smirked as Natsu walked out of the dust cloud and into the hall. Everyone stood there stunned as the guild mate they thought was dead walked in with a bang. He had an angry look on his face as he glared at Makarov.

"N-No way...is that...Natsu?" Bisca stuttered in shock. Both Happy and Cana were shocked beyond belief. Without hesitating much longer, Happy wailed tears of joy as he flew straight at Natsu and hugged him tightly.

"Natsu! You're really alive! I thought you were dead! But I knew you were alive this entire time! Waaaahhhhh!" Happy cried into his chest. Natsu smiled down at his best friend, patting him on the head.

"Yeah...sorry for worrying you buddy...I'm alive and well..." He told him. Happy lifted his head from his chest to look up at him and he smiled.

"Natsu...is that really you..." Lucy asked as she couldn't believe her eyes.

"Yep! I'm back, Luce!" He grinned. Lucy missed that familiar Natsu grin as she felt herself cry in happiness. Both Cana and Levy too started to have tears form in their eyes. Natsu smiled at them before returning to his glare, eying Makarov.

"Natsu...it really is you..." Makarov began, shocked. Natsu removed Happy off of him. "...this is great...now we have a chance to-" Natsu rushed at Makarov and swung his fist at him. The punch slammed Makarov into the wall, breaking it, creating a hole that lead to the outside. Everyone was shocked at his attack.

"Natsu! What are you doing!?" Bisca shouted at him.

Natsu didn't respond and instead dug into his pockets, taking out a few more stones. He quickly tossed one to Lucy and two to Gajeel. "Huh? What is this?" Gajeel asked. "Do I eat them or something?"

"If you want to die then go ahead." Natsu joked, but keeping his serious expression.

"What did you say, you bastard!?" Gajeel yelled at him.

"I don't have time to explain, but I'll keep it short. Possessing some of our nakama are these monsters called Darkstalkers. Myself and Erza defeated one each, so that makes only three left as well as the man who created them." Natsu told them.

"Wait a minute, Natsu! Darkstalkers? These stones? I don't get it!" Lucy asked.

"Those stones I gave you will help you fight the Darkstalkers. You will need them so that you can inflict damage to the Darkstalker and not our friends." Natsu explained. However, the stones only work once so it's best if you weaken the host first before using it. Also, I warned Erza about this, but I'm guessing she had no choice. Do not stab yourself with the stone, it is filled with very poisonous magic that can kill you. You may get stronger, but the poison can slowly kill you." Natsu warned them.

"Wait a minute! Is Erza okay?" Lucy asked.

"She's strong...I know for a fact that she will survive...she is Erza after all." He told them with a small smile.

"Right..." Lucy agreed.

"Gajeel, give the other one to Gray and both of you go after Laxus." Natsu told them.

"I don't need that ice boy's help." He responded.

"Maybe not...but the Darkstalker that is possessing him is probably the strongest...it doesn't hurt to have some help."

"Don't tell me what to do, dumb ass." He responded and took off, hopefully to find Gray.

"Lucy...go find Bixlow, Happy go with her..."

"Huh? You want Lucy to fight someone strong like that?" Happy asked in shock.

"Oi!" Lucy exclaimed at the exceed.

"That's because Lucy is strong." He turned his head to smile at her, causing the blond to blush.

"R-Right...thanks Natsu." He nodded.

"Alright then...let's go Lucy!" Happy said and the Celestial Spirit mage nodded and the two took off.

"Cana and Juvia...go find Elfman." Natsu turned his head toward the two mages.

"Huh? Elfman?" Cana asked.

"He also has one of the stones and I'm pretty sure Freed is going to go after him and Mira. I need you two to be there so you can help him out." He told them.

"Juvia understands." Juvia nodded her head.

"Alright then." Cana responded. "But first..." Natsu's eyes widened as Cana rushed over to him and planted her lips on him. Natsu was caught by surprise once again by a surprise kiss from the beer drinking woman. When she pulled away, she winked at him. "Once this is over...there is more where that came from..." Before Natsu could even respond, he dragged a blushing and stunned Juvia away with her to find Elfman. Natsu sighed.

'Ah man...I wonder what Mira might think if she found out...' He scratched the back of his head. He turned his head to the last two people in the room and saw a blushing Levy and Bisca, fidgeting slightly after witnessing the kiss between Cana and Natsu. "You two alright?" He asked.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine..." Levy stuttered.

"Hold it...why did you attack Master?" Bisca yelled.

"That's because he's been possessed by the man who created the Darkstalkers...isn't that right, Sekrom?"

"Interesting..." The Levy and Bisca's eyes widened as they saw Makarov standing a few feet away from them, a malicious smirk on his face.

"N-No way...but why?" Bisca asked. "The Master wouldn't fall so easily."

"It's my fault..." Natsu told them. "If I didn't disappear then none of this would be happening."

"No...it's not your fault, Natsu..." Levy told him. "Don't ever say that!"

"I know I shouldn't...but...if I was still here, then I could prevented this from happening."

"That's right...it is your fault, Natsu Dragneel." Sekrom laughed as Natsu clenched his fists, glaring at him. "Although, I am curious...how did you know that I was in your Master's body?"

"Two reasons...one, seeing as how you are the leader of the Darkstalkers, you would have to possess the one person who is the strongest of the guild and the one who everyone would most likely never expect. The other...is the fact that you tried to force the Master to retire when I know for a fact he would never do such a thing!" He angrily told him.

"Hahahahahaha! Well done, Dragneel. You're not as dumb as they say you are." Sekrom laughed.

"Shut up!" Natsu puffed his cheeks and blew out fire. "Fire Dragon's Lightning Roar!" Natsu fired his attack right at Makarov. Using the small body he possessed, Sekrom jumped and dodge the attack. Once he got back on his feet, Sekrom lifted his head to see Natsu already ignited his hand and swinging his arm forward. Natsu punch connected, but instead of hurting Sekrom, he was able to block it with his bare hand. "Heh, I knew this wouldn't be easy."

"Then you should have come at me with your full strength!" Sekrom jumped up and quickly kicked Natsu in the face. Natsu gritted his teeth as he felt pain in his cheek, but that didn't stop him from turning around and igniting his leg. Makarov blocked his kick with his forearm and then grabbed a hold of it. He swung Natsu around and threw him away toward Levy and Bisca. Natsu flipped backwards and landed on his feet, just in front of Levy and Bisca.

"Natsu..." Levy muttered as she looked from the Dragonslayer towards the Master. "He really is possessed..."

"Yeah...this is going to be tough...especially when he combined the Old Man's strength with his own." Natsu straightened up and wiped his mouth. He reached into his pocket and felt only one stone in it. 'Looks like I'm in for a long fight...' He smirked while pounding his fist. "I'm getting fired up!"

**To Be Continued...**

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><p><strong>Author Notes:<strong> I'm a sorry for not updating for like 2 or 3 months whatever it is. I've just been busy with school, working on a show that kept me working everyday from like 10am to 10pm. I also know that this chapter is shorter than the others and the reason for that is because I thought I made you guys wait long enough for an update that I split this chapter into 2 parts. So, expect the next part soon, hopefully...

Also, some of you have asked about Yourfanfiction. That site has closed down because they don't have enough funds to support it. So for those who want to read the lemons of this story without going to Adultfanfiction, I most likely going to create a blog for my stories. I will post the link tot he blog in the next chapter, since there will be a possible lemon either in the next chapter or the the one after that! I hope you enjoy the chapter and once again I'm sorry for the delay.


	26. Natsu and Co VS Darkstalkers Part 2

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related which includes the characters of Fairy Tail.

**Rated M! You have been warned!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 26: Natsu and Co Vs The Darkstalkers Part 2<strong>

"He said to go after Bixlow, but we don't even know where he is." Lucy muttered as she put her hand on her chin in a thinking pose.

"Why not use the Guild Megaphone?" Happy suggested.

"Unfortunately, there was an enchantment on it. 'During the Battle of Fairy Tail, only the Master can use it.' Seriously, they thought of everything." She sighed as the duo walked across a bridge. They came to a stop to look down and saw the townsfolk going about their business, knowing nothing about what was happening. "If we weren't Fairy Tail, I wonder how they would react to all the explosions and fighting going on."

"They'll probably scream and panic." Happy answered.

"You think..." She sweat dropped at him. She then felt a chill run through her skin. "So cold..." She shivered, "I should have brought a sweater." She looked back down. "I think we should evacuate everyone from the Hall of Thunder."

"Yeah, I've been thinking about it and I don't think that's a good idea." Happy replied while walking on the ledge.

"Huh? Why?"

"Well, since the Festival is approaching, there are many visitors from other towns and this place is really, really busy." Happy answered. "We don't want to cause a panic - it could cause some unnecessary casualties."

"True, but then..." Lucy thought about it. "...what do we do?"

"Hmmm, maybe we can call out to him and he'll come!"

"He's not a dog and I doubt he'll be stupid enough to come if someone called him." Lucy replied as she noticed the townsfolk below the bridge she and Happy were walking on. "Besides, we can't get any of the townspeople involved."

"Hey Bixlow! Where are you!? I have some fish!"

"WHAT DID I JUST TELL YOU!?" Lucy yelled.

"Yeah..."

"What did she just tell you?"

"Yeah..."

Lucy turned her head at the voices and was surprised to see three floating totem pole head like things behind her. Happy quickly reacted when he saw them. "Lucy! Watch out!" Happy grabbed her by her shirt and pushed her out of the way as the dolls shot out bullets made out of magic at her. Happy then lifted her up and flew up towards the roof of the nearest building.

"What...what is this!?" She screamed.

"It's Bixlow!" Happy told her.

She then heard laughter. "Hahahahaha, so you're the newbie who I have heard so much about."

"And what's that supposed to mean!? In fact, I probably don't even want to hear it." Lucy screamed at him.

"The Cosplay Maniac Queen." Bixlow responded.

"That's exaggerating too much!" She yelled.

"Hahahahaha! So what are you now? A cheerleader?" He laughed.

"What!? No! This is just..." Lucy tried to explain herself.

"Cheerleader! Cheerleader!" His dolls chanted.

"Hahahaha! Whatever. Although I did hear something else." He laughed, licking his mouth with his tongue.

"W-What?" She asked nervously and felt creeped out by the man standing on top of the building across from her.

"A weakling." Lucy's eyes widened slightly, but didn't allow that word to get to her. She smiled, which surprised Bixlow.

'Looks like I have to thank Natsu again...' She felt her cheeks get slightly warm. She closed her eyes. 'If it wasn't for him saying those words to me and giving me the responsibility to handle Bixlow...being called a weakling would have really hurt.' She opened her eyes and had a new look of determination and strength burning in them. "I'm going to defeat you and put a stop to your plans."

"Oh...we'll see about that." He stuck his tongue out and then pointed down toward Lucy and Happy. "Hey Babies! Show that weakling the difference in our ability!" The dolls moved up and down in the air while chanting 'difference in ability'. The dolls charged up their magic, getting ready to fire at any moment.

"Lucy, let's run!" Happy yelled. Before she could even reply, the dolls shot out a powerful beam of magic that both Lucy and Happy jumped out of the way. They barely were able to dodge the blast.

"That was close..." Lucy let out a sigh of relief.

"This is weird..." Happy muttered.

"Huh? What's wrong, Happy?" She asked turning her head to look at the Exceed.

"I know Bixlow is strong, but..." Happy said as the smoke from the attack cleared and half of the building was now gone. "But this is..."

Lucy's eyes widened in shock. "That's...no way..." It was difficult to believe what she saw. She then started to worry that innocent bystanders might have been injured in the blast. She looked over to the laughing Bixlow and furrowed her eyebrows at him. She wasn't angry, but she also wasn't pleased with what he had done.

"Hahahaha! Good job dodging my attack...or is that what you thought I would say. Sorry to disappoint you newbie. I purposely missed just so that you can witness my power! Don't worry though, next time I'll spare you from a heart attack and kill you instantly!" He laughed as his dolls chanted, 'instantly'.

"This guy..." Lucy frowned at him.

"It must be that dark-something Natsu mentioned before..."

"Huh?" Lucy quested Happy.

"That's why he is stronger now...probably..." He replied.

"Probably...?" Lucy sweat dropped, but she knew Happy was right. Lucy reached into her side pocket and felt the stone that Natsu gave her against her hand. His words of how this small stone was the key to defeating the Darkstalkers flooded her mind. She clenched the stone and then glared at Bixlow. He licked his lips like a big creep and it disgusted her. She stood up and reached for her keys. However, before she could grab one of her keys, a bright light blinded one of her eyes. She widened when she knew what the light was and started running to her right. She grabbed Happy and jumped out of the way as the magic beam shot past her and blew up the building across the street. Her ears were ringing slightly, but she managed to hear the cries of several townsfolk below them.

"Hahahahahahaha! I'm amazed you dodged that, newbie!" Lucy couldn't believe this guy. How could a man like him be in Fairy Tail? She couldn't believe it. She wondered if the Darkstalker was making him do this, but she didn't know what to believe anymore. She could still hear the screams of the townsfolk and she prayed that no one got hurt. However, she still found it inexcusable to do this. "But how long can you keep evading my doll's attacks?" The dolls continued to fire a barrage of magic beams at Lucy that she dodged, but was having a hard time doing so. The speed of the attacks were getting faster and faster and she knew she had to do something before two things happen; she gets hit by one and gets blown up or the entire building collapses.

'I have to do something about those flying things...' She knew she had to get rid of them first before fighting against Bixlow. Quickly choosing the key she wanted, she summoned her spirit. "Open Gate of the Archer! Sagittarius!"

"Hello? Hello? You called?" The large Sagittarius like spirit saluted.

"Ohhhh! A stellar spirit! Not only that, but your spirits cosplay also!" Bixlow applauded her.

"Shut up!" Lucy screamed. She then turned toward her spirit. "Take down those flying things, alright?"

"Hello! Hello! Orders received and understood!" The spirit said and aimed at the dolls. He launched his arrows and with his brilliant aim was able to destroy them. Bixlow was screaming at the loss of his so called 'babies'. "You did it!" Lucy screamed, pumping her fist.

"Noooo! Babies!" Bixlow crouched and held his head in agony. Lucy felt like she turned the tide of this fight, but it was not to be as Bixlow suddenly raised his head and stuck his tongue out. "...just kidding..." Suddenly, Sagittarius was attacked by something and he cringed from the pain he was feeling.

"What!? Sagittarius!" The spirit didn't respond as he lost consciousness from the power of the attack. Lucy quickly told Sagittarius to return, but he didn't move, leaving the only option of forcing him back to the spirit world. "Damn you..." Lucy glared at Bixlow. He only laughed.

"Sill cosplay girl! You can destroy my babies all you want, but it won't stop the souls that are within them that I can control." He explained.

"Souls?"

"Bixlow's magic allows him to implant souls into dolls and control them." Happy explained to her.

"The blue cat is right!"

"So then, what can we..." Lucy couldn't finish as one of the dolls suddenly swiped her keys and the doll flew back to Bixlow. "My keys!" She watched desperately as her keys were no longer in her possession. The other dolls then started to attack Lucy and Happy. She tried to cover herself to protect her body, but the dolls were too strong and she was knocked down. Even then, the dolls continued to attack her.

"Hah! I'm afraid there's no escape for you now. Sorry about this little cosplay girlie." Bixlow smirked as he watched his dolls gang up on both of them. "You soul will be serving Laxus from here on out!" The dolls then gathered together above the two of them and moved in a circle. "Baryon Formation!"

Lucy's eyes widened in horror as a beam of magic was being formed above her. "W-What is this...?" She had a look of terror on her face as the beam was headed towards her. 'No...so much magic is going to...' She truly believed she was going to die right there, but luckily for her, someone grabbed her and she managed to avoid the life threatening attack.

"I wonder..." Lucy heard a voice and looked up to see her savior. "...why is it that I have the power to pass through the gate whether you call me or not. I suppose this is just proof that the barrier between human and spirit...crumbles to nothing before the power of love."

"No...I don't think that's it, Loke." Lucy sweat dropped at the spirit, but she was so happy to see him, especially since he just saved her life. "...but...thanks for saving me, you idiot." She smiled at him.

"Your welcome. I would put you down, but I'm afraid, you'll fall if I do." Lucy blinked and then looked down to see that Loke was standing on top of the tower that was higher than the building she was on before.

"W-What the?" She looked around and then managed to see the house that she was standing on and saw it completely destroyed.

"By the way...can you let go of my back, Happy? Your claws are digging into my skin, damn it!" Loke cringed as he felt Happy's claws pinch his back.

"It's good to see you...Loke." Happy gave him a crooked smile before letting go of him and activating his wings.

Loke smiled and then looked at Bixlow. 'Something is not right...I never thought Bixlow was this strong...'

"Loke." The spirit turned his head back at Lucy. "I probably know what you are thinking. That man is not Bixlow. According to Natsu, there is a monster inside of him that makes him look and act like Bixlow perfectly. That would explain why he is so strong."

"I see...so that's why I've had this odd feeling." Loke muttered. "I guess since you were able to read my thoughts it must be love."

"No, I'm sure that's not it."

"Loke and Lucy sitting in a tree..." Happy sang, and danced in the air while holding his paws on his cheeks.

"It's not like that! Besides, the person I like is..." Lucy quickly covered her mouth as her cheeks got red. Loke felt his heart crush at the sudden thought of Lucy liking someone else and would have dropped to his hands and knees in depression if there was a place to put her down. Happy on the other hand became excited and curious. He needed to find out who this person she liked was.

"Oh? You have someone you like, Lucy? Who is it? Is it Gray? Or maybe Elfman? Or maybe it's..."

"Would you stop that?" Lucy yelled.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I need you to die." Loke's eyes widened in horror as Bixlow suddenly appeared behind him. What really horrified Loke was the fact that he couldn't sense him come from behind.

'He's fast...' Loke gritted his teeth and jumped as one of Bixlow's dolls shot a beam of magic at the tower he stood on.

"Kyaah!" Lucy screamed as Loke jumped down to one of the roofs. He landed and quickly put Lucy down before clenching his fist and threw a punch at Bixlow who followed them. He managed to dodge the punch by bending back. Loke looked down and saw Bixlow sticking his tongue out as a doll quickly appeared in front of him.

'Crap...' Loke cursed as the doll attacked Loke with a magic beam.

"Loke!" Lucy screamed as Loke slid to a stop in front of her, steam coming out of his hand.

"Damn...it hurts..." He grabbed his forearm.

"Are you okay?" Lucy asked him and he nodded.

"Yeah...I'm fine..." Loke told her, but it wasn't the total truth. 'Damn, my forearm hurts...I'm just lucky I still have my arm.' He glared at Bixlow who laughed.

"Whoever thought that Loke was a spirit...oh wait, I did!" Lucy eye's widened.

"He knew?"

"Bixlow has the ability to see spirits." Happy told her as he flew next to her.

"What!?"

"Lucy..." She turned her head. "...I might not be able to do this alone...I need you to call some of the other spirits."

"Huh? But...I don't think I can summon more than one spirit at a time." Lucy told him.

"Don't worry...I know you can. You're strong Lucy." Loke turned his head and smiled.

"Loke..."

"How sweet...kill them my babies!" Bixlow stuck his tongue out and his dolls shot magic at the trio.

"Ahhhh!" Happy screamed, hugging Lucy who was trying to get him off.

"O Regulus...grant me strength!" Loke clenched his hands. He lifted his arms and they started to glow a bright color. Lucy and Happy watched as the attacks hit Loke who blocked the beams with his arms.

"Loke!" They both shouted.

"Hahahaha! What a fool!" Bixlow laughed.

"Who's the fool?" Bixlow stopped laughing when Loke suddenly appeared and kicked Bixlow in the face.

"Loke!" Happy and Lucy cheered. Loke simply smirked as Bixlow sat up.

'Damn...my arms are killing me...I don't know how long I can keep blocking those attacks...' Loke thought as his arms felt like they were being burned to a crisp.

"Hahahaha! Looks like you do have some fight in you." Bixlow stood up as his dolls returned to him. "But...I wonder how long you can keep up the act?"

"Act? What does he mean?" Lucy asked.

"I don't know what you are talking about?" Loke replied, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Hahahaha! Sure, act all tough and mighty in front of the cosplay girl. Let's just see if you can block another attack!" Bixlow laughed as his dolls started charging.

'Crap...' Loke had to think of something quick. He couldn't just block the attacks otherwise he wouldn't be able to use his arms. 'I have to take out those dolls...' With that in his mind, Loke charged instead of holding his ground.

"Oh, you decided to come at me now! Hahahaha! Interesting, let's see what you can do! Fire my babies!" The dolls all fired magic beams again. Loke quickly began to evade them, getting closer to Bixlow. "Quick...but let's see what happens when they fire all at once!" The dolls all fired at once and Loke stopped as he saw no way to evade the large beam. Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Loke jumped high into the air. He was barely able to escape from the large beam as it passed him and destroyed a building behind him. Panic rose from the citizens as they ran away from the area around the building.

"Oh no!" Lucy cried out as she forgot about the citizens.

"This is bad. If we don't stop Bixlow, then he'll kill innocent people!" Happy added as he looked on in horror.

Lucy looked back at the fight and saw that Loke landed on the roof and was glaring at Bixlow. 'I can't have Loke fight this fight alone...but can I summon the other spirits?'

_That's because Lucy is strong._

Lucy's eyes widened as she clenched her fists. 'Natsu...Natsu put his trust in me...I can't let him down. I am strong. I can do this!' She went to reach for her keys, only to forget that she didn't have them. 'Oh no! I forgot that my keys were stolen! Damn it! Where are they?' She looked around.

"Looking for these, cosplay girl!" Lucy's eyes widened as she saw her keys being dangled in the air by Bixlow.

"Give those back!" She screamed and Bixlow only laughed.

"Hahahaha! Do you think I'll just give these keys back to you? Please, why would I do something stupid?" He told her. "Unless, your spirit friend here can get them from me."

"You bastard...give Lucy her keys back." Loke glared at him.

"Come and get them, little kitty." The insult pissed Loke off as he charged at Bixlow again. "Hahahaha! Fool! Kill him my babies!" The dolls all flew toward Loke, charging up their beams again.

"Does this guy have unlimited amount of magic!" Lucy screamed. She gritted her teeth. She couldn't just stand there and do nothing. She clenched her fists and grabbed her whip. 'I have to get my keys back...maybe I can get them while Loke distracts him...but...would that still be enough?' She then looked at Happy. "Happy, I need your help."

"Huh?"

"Fire! Fire! Keep on firing my babies!" Bixlow laughed hysterically.

'Damn...I just can't keep dodging!' Loke heard the sound of another building being hit by the magic beams. He went to kick one of the dolls, but as soon as he tried, another doll fired a beam at him, making him change actions and evade. 'Damn it...I can't get anywhere near destroying one of them!' He gritted his teeth in anger. He dodged another when he saw something from the corner of his eyes. 'W-What...what are they thinking?'

"Hahahahaha! You can't keep dodging forever. Come and fight me like a-" Bixlow stopped when he suddenly saw Happy in front of him.

"Hi!" Happy put his paw in the air and then suddenly grabbed Bixlow's face.

"What the hell are you doing!? Get off of me you stupid, blue, flying cat!" Bixlow shouted, but it was mumbled as he tried tearing Happy off of his face.

"No!" Happy screamed as he held on for dear life. "Go Lucy!"

"Right!" Lucy prepared her whip.

"Like hell I'll let you get these keys!" He shouted. "My babies! Fire your attacks at me and the cosplay girl!"

"What!?" Lucy, Loke and Happy all screamed in shock.

"Why is he...oh no, it's the Darkstalker!" Lucy's eyes widened as she realized that the Darkstalker wouldn't be affected by the attack, but Bixlow sure would. "Loke! Stop the dolls!"

"Right!" Loke shouted and watched as the dolls all turned around to fire at their targets. "I won't let you!" He kicked one of the dolls, destroying it and then went on to the next.

"Fire!" Bixlow shouted and Loke was able to destroy all of them except for one, which fired.

"No! Happy!" Loke screamed as Happy turned around to see a beam coming at him.

"Ahhhh!" The blue exceed screamed as he let go of Bixlow's face at the last second before the beam connected.

"Happy! Bixlow!" Lucy screamed in fear as a loud explosion occurred. Loke dealt with the last remaining doll and then looked over at the smoke, hoping Happy and Bixlow were alright. "Happy..." Lucy muttered, a hand to her chest.

After a few seconds, a voice was heard coming from the smoke. "Lucy! I got them!" Happy flew out of the smoke, keys in hand as Lucy cheered.

"You did it, Happy! I'm so glad you're okay!" She ran toward him and let Happy fly right into her arms.

Loke let out a sigh of relief as Happy was okay. He then turned back to the smoke and tried to see if Bixlow was okay. Sure he was their opponent, but he was being possessed by something, at least that's what Lucy told him. He eventually grew tired of waiting and ran toward Lucy and Happy and stood in front of them, in case Bixlow suddenly popped up out of no where.

"Hahahaha..." A laughter was heard and all three stared at the cloud of smoke as it was slowly dispersing. "You really are quite an interesting bunch..." Lucy gripped her key ring as she saw a figure in the smoke. "Too bad you're so weak..." The voice trailed off at the end. Slight movement was heard and the trio prepared themselves for anything that might happen. Suddenly, a loud, screeching roar erupted from the smoke, blowing it away. The trio covered their ears from the deafening roar and closed their eyes to protect their eyes from the scattered dust particles. The roar stopped and they slowly opened their eyes, before they widened them as far as they could.

Before them, stood Bixlow, however, similar to what happened to Evergreen, he transformed to a half monster like being. His tongue was longer now, which looked creepy to all three of them. Bixlow's dolls also went through some sort of transformation. There were several different markings on the dolls that matched the transformation that Bixlow was now in.

"W-What the hell is that?" Loke asked.

"I don't know, but it's creepy..." Lucy slightly shivered at the sight.

"It must be that monster Natsu was talking about. Did he take control of Bixlow?" Happy asked.

"No, not entirely though." He then positioned himself in front of the two to protect them from anything that Bixlow/monster was going to do next. He sensed that Bixlow was now stronger when he went through that transformation, so he had to make sure to protect the two from him. "I want you two to stand behind me, got that. He's much stronger now."

"No problem." Happy answered, nodding his head.

"Let me help you fight, Loke." Lucy replied, grabbing her key ring.

"That's fine, but make sure you always stay behind me. Who knows what this thing can do now." Loke told her and she nodded her head.

"Hahahaha! Let's go you little pussy cat." Bixlow yelled and charged at full speed. Loke's eyes widened at how much faster he became and couldn't block the knee that struck him in the gut.

"Loke!" He spat out blood from the force before being kicked in the back and sent flying, away from Lucy and Happy.

"Go get him, my pretties!" Bixlow ordered his dolls as they flew towards Loke and charged up a magic beam. The lion spirit looked up and saw the dolls too late as they fired.

"LOKE!" Lucy screamed as the magic beam caused an explosion. Lucy couldn't believe how quickly it came to this. They had the advantage and then suddenly, the tides have turned in a blink of an eye. She clenched her fists tightly. She said she was going to help, but she just stood there. What was wrong with her? Natsu put his trust in her and she couldn't do anything but watch. She hated this.

"Lucy! We should get out of here!" Happy yelled at her, but she was too deep in her thoughts to hear him.

"Hahahahaha! Now then, let's kill this cosplay queen and then move on to the rest of this pathetic town!" Bixlow laughed as he slowly started to approach her.

'Why? Why can't be strong like Erza or Natsu...why?' She hated this.

"Like hell, I'll let you touch her!" Lucy snapped her head up and watched as Loke kicked Bixlow in the head.

"You damn cat..." Bixlow growled as he grabbed the leg of Loke. Loke gritted his teeth at the pain at his leg. Not only was he caught, but his kicked did nothing. Bixlow then threw Loke at Lucy, who somehow caught him, but wasn't strong enough to hold him and they fell to the ground.

"Lucy! Are you alright?" Loke asked her after he instantly got off of her.

"Why...?" He blinked at her in confusion as he held her in his arm. "Why am I so weak? I said I'll help you and fight with you...but all I did was watch."

"Lucy..." Loke gritted his teeth. He couldn't stand seeing her like this. The person who saved him from years of being tortured by the sin he committed. He needed to help her. He had to help her.

"Is that cosplay queen crying, hahahaha! What a pathetic little girl she is. It would be a pleasure to kill both of you!" Bixlow laughed and ran at them. Loke pulled Lucy towards him and then jumped away. Bixlow punched the roof as it broke and rubble fell into the building. "Hahahahaha! Nicely dodged, pussy cat! But you are only preventing the inevitable."

'Damn, I got lucky...there has to be something I can do...' He then heard something tap against the roof and looked down to see a stone. 'What is that?' He picked it up and looked at it.

"That's a stone that Natsu gave me..." He turned his head to look at the blond girl in his arms.

"Natsu? He's alive?" Lucy smiled and nodded her head.

"Yes...he said that...the stone can help defeat Bixlow and the monster inside of him...but we have to weaken him first." She explained. Loke looked at her and then at the stone. He examined the stone and then looked over at Bixlow who was coming toward them.

"Loke! Lucy! Are you okay?" Happy asked. He then noticed the stone in Loke's hands.

"Be careful Loke! If you touch that, you can die!" Happy warned him.

"Die?" Loke questioned the blue exceed.

"Natsu said to not get stabbed by the stone because it's poisonous..." Lucy told him.

"Poisonous?" He looked at the stone and then at Bixlow. He became determined and clenched the stone. Softly letting go of Lucy, he stood up and walked forward.

"Loke? What are you doing?" She asked. He turned his head and smiled at her.

"Nothing to be worried about." He told her and then pulled down his sleeve. Lucy's eyes widened as she figured out what he was going to do.

"No! Don't!"

"Sorry Lucy...but...sometimes it's necessary to take risks to help and protect others." He then stabbed his forearm with the stone. He felt the magic energy that the stone emit enter his body. At first he felt nothing but the feeling of something being pumped into his body. Then the pain came. "Aaaaahhhh!" He fell to his knees and clenched his forearm as he dropped the stone.

"Loke!" Lucy screamed as Bixlow stopped walking and looked at Loke.

"This is..." Bixlow recognized this magic aura from earlier today. Realizing quickly what it was, he ran at full speed towards Loke. Lucy noticed this in time and ran forward as well and quickly wrapped her arms around the ailing Loke. "Die!" He roared as his arm suddenly transformed into some sort of black monster hand. However, before he could reach them, a shining white light erupted from the two and it caused Bixlow jump away from the light. "W-What is this?"

"Loke! Lucy!" Happy cried out as the light faded away slowly.

As the light completely faded away, instead of two people that were once there, there was only one. Stood there was Lucy, but something was different about her. Instead of her usual blonde hair, it was the same hair color as Lokes, she wore an entire new outfit that looked as if both of their clothing were mixed together and she had a new tattoo on her right shoulder that resembled the zodiac sign, Leo.

"Who the hell are you?" Bixlow asked.

"Lucy? No wait...Loke! Loke turned into a girl! How does that happen!?" Happy panicked. The Loke woman like person turned their head towards Happy.

"It's me Happy, I'm still Lucy." Happy's jaw dropped to the ground.

"W-What? Lucy! But you're different!" He exclaimed and took out a mirror from his small pouch.

"I don't know what's going on either." She answered honestly, looking over herself in the mirror. She looked the same except for the orange locks that reminded her of Loke's hair and her clothes were different as well, which was weird. They looked like her clothing and Loke's clothing suddenly mixed along with her appearance. The one thing she did find different was a strange feeling inside her. She felt some sort of magic she never felt before. "But...I feel...stronger..."

"Hahahahaha! You really are the Cosplay Queen! I didn't even know you can change into a cosplay in mere seconds." Bixlow laughed as Lucy glared at him.

"Don't underestimate...Bixlow."

"Ooooh...aren't you being a cocky little brat! What? You cosplay and suddenly get a confident boost!" Bixlow laughed. "I thought I seen it all!"

Lucy scowled at him. 'Lucy...'

"Huh?" She looked around for the voice, but she couldn't see anyone besides the two who were with her on the roof.

"What's wrong, Lucy?" Happy asked.

"I thought I heard a voice..."

'Lucy...it's me Loke...'

"Loke! Where are you?" Lucy asked, looking around again.

"Hahaha! Look at that, she's going insane!" Bixlow commented.

'I'm in you Lucy...'

"Why does that sound perverted coming from you?" Lucy sweat dropped.

'Hey! I'm not being perverted! I really am inside of you...okay I can see how that sounds perverted...anyway, I can't explain it, but it seems that stone caused us to fuse together. I never heard of a Celestial Spirit and their caster fusing like this!'

"So then, that means that...I'm the only one capable of doing this." She said with astonishment. "So then, that magic I feel in my body is yours."

'Yes.' Loke answered. Lucy then smirked.

"So then, let's go beat Bixlow and that Darkstalker, Loke!" Lucy clenched her fists.

'Yes!'

"Oh, just try it!" Bixlow licked his lips with that long disgusting tongue of his monster form.

'Let's go, Lucy!' Lucy, with a new gain of confidence and courage, dashed forward.

"Lucy!" She heard Happy scream in worry.

"Go my minions!" The dolls that also transformed flew towards Lucy and charged their magic. Lucy looked up at them and clenched her fist. Her fist became warmer as light enveloped it.

'Lucy! Use my power! Gather up the light and then just release the magic!' Loke told her inside her head. Lucy did as instructed and stopped. Pulling her arm back, she punched the air in front of her and out from her fist, a beam of light shot out. Several beams followed as the two magic attacks collided in the center. However, Lucy managed to release a few more beams, which collided with the dolls, destroying them.

"What!?" Bixlow yelled in anger. "My babies!" He growled in anger. He turned his head and just in the nick of time saw more beams coming at him. He jumped to evade, but was predicted by Lucy who was now above him. He looked up and was suddenly punched in the face with the glowing fist of light of hers. The response was now Bixlow's grunt of cry of pain, but the scream of the monster inside of him.

"Wryaaaaaaahhhhhh!" Bixlow's body crashed into a building.

Lucy panted as she looked at the rubble that she sent Bixlow flying into. She looked down at her fist and saw the light disappear. "Amazing..."

'Great job, Lucy.'

"Thanks." She grinned.

"Wryaaaaahhhhh!"

"Waaaahhhh! Watch out Lucy!" Lucy looked up and saw something black coming down right above her. She widened her eyes, but quickly jumped back in time as the black creature slammed into the roof.

"What the..." The dust cleared as the Darkstalker's true appearance showed itself to her.

"AAAAHHHH! IT'S A MONSTER!" Happy yelled.

"No way! That's the Darkstalker!" Lucy exclaimed in disgust and slight fear.

'That is one ugly thing.' Loke made his own comment.

"It's creepy and disgusting..." Lucy replied.

"Wryaaaahhhh!" The Darkstalker screamed. He slammed his tail a couple of times to showcase it's strength.

'Lucy...we made it come out...now is our chance!' Loke told her. She nodded her head.

"Right!" She clenched both of her fists. They started to glow in a bright light as she waited for the monster to make a move. A few seconds later, it did. The Darkstalker jumped into the air and descended down on her. Lucy jumped and threw a punch at it. The monster countered with its claw as the blows connected. The monster screamed in pain as the light was to strong and it's claw disintegrated. The Darkstalker fell down and clutched at it's now missing claw. Lucy landed on her feet and watched the monster thrash about. She looked down at her hands and saw that a small portion of the light was green, the same color as the stone. "This must be...that stone's power."

'Well it would explain why we suddenly fused together.' Loke told her.

"Yeah!" She smirked and turned her attention back to the Darkstalker, who was now back standing on it's feet and snarling at the Celestial Mage. "Alright then! Let's end this!"

"Wryaaaaahhhh!" The monster yelled and turned around to whiplash his tail at her. Lucy wasn't quick enough to evade, so she did the next thing she could think of it and suddenly grabbed the tail. She was pushed back, but not far as she had the strength to hold onto the tail and immobilize the Darkstalker. The monster screamed as he felt his tail get burned by the light on her hands.

"Wow! Go Lucy!" Happy cheered in amazement.

Smirking, Lucy tightened her hold on the tail and started to turn her body. She lifted the monster off the ground and spun around twice before colliding with a building. 'Now Lucy! While you have the chance!'

"Right!" Lucy clenched her fists tightly, making the light brighter. The Darkstalker sensed the danger and jumped away from the rubble and onto the roof of another building. "I won't let you get away!" Lucy screamed and ran after the Darkstalker, who was now jumping from building to building. Noticing that she might not catch up to the monster, she suddenly felt herself being lifted up from the ground. She turned her head and noticed that someone picked her up. "Happy!"

"Let's go get him, Lucy!" Happy grinned and flew toward the monster.

"Right!" Lucy nodded and they chased after the Darkstalker. The said Darkstalker turned it's head to see Lucy gaining up on him. He turned around and opened it's mouth while in mid air and launched a magic beam at them. Happy quickly spun around to evade the attack and charged forward as fast as he could. The Darkstalker was frozen in mid-air as Lucy clenched her fists even tighter, increasing the magic in her hands.

"Go Lucy!"

'Do it now!'

"Take this!" Lucy screamed and punched the Darkstalker right in the abdomen. The monster cried out in pain as he slowly started to disintegrate into nothing. The light turned fully green as Lucy sent the monster straight down to the street. The monster crashed down tot he street and slowly was disintegrating before he finally disappeared.

"We did it!" Happy cheered.

"Yeah! We did!" Lucy smiled brightly at her win. 'I finally became stronger.'

Her hair slowly started turning back as Happy dropped her down onto one of the rooftops. The moment her feet touched solid, a bright light enveloped her before she was pushed back by an unknown force. "Lucy!" Happy screamed as he rushed towards her. He looked down and noticed that her clothing and hair returned to normal, but she was unconscious. "Lucy!"

"Aww man...that hurt!" Happy turned its head to the other side of the roof and saw Loke.

"Loke! Where did you come from?" Happy asked.

"Huh?" He looked at the blue exceed. "Oh...I think I was inside of Lucy..."

"Pervert..."

"Not like that, damn it!" He yelled, but became worried when he saw Lucy.

"Lucy!" He ran toward her. He carefully picked up her head with his hand and shook her slightly to try and wake her up. "Lucy! Are you okay!? Wake up!"

"Lucy..." Happy muttered. She still didn't respond.

"Not again..." Loke shook in fear at the thought of another Celestial Mage being killed because of him.

"Looks like you have met with a terrible fate...haven't you?" The two of them turned their heads at the voice. "Sorry, I always wanted to say that."

"You! What are you doing here!?"

* * *

><p>Natsu and Makarov collided with fists again as Levy and Bisca try to hold their ground from the force their fists created. The Guild Hall had seen better days and that was something that didn't happen often with the Guild that it resided in.<p>

"So powerful..." Bisca muttered. "...and fast..." She added when she couldn't see the two of them.

"I never knew Natsu was this strong before." Levy added.

"Is this all you got, Dragon boy!" Makarov snarled as he blocked Natsu's punch. He smirked as he used Makarov's small stature to become quicker and deliver several blows across Natsu's body. "If you want to beat me...then you will have no choice but to go all out. Then again, if you do, you will probably kill this old geezer."

"Damn you!" Natsu clenched his fists and ignited it to deliver a punch. Sekrom didn't avoid as the punch didn't afflict any damage to him, but it did do damage to Makarov. 'Shit...' Natsu cursed as he didn't want to punch the Master at his weaken state.

"Master!" Bisca and Levy shouted. They knew Natsu had no choice, but with how weak the Master was, they knew he probably couldn't handle to much damage. Natsu landed on his feet and glared at Sekrom, who got back up and wiped the blood off of Makarov's lips.

"You are a coward." Natsu commented.

"Oh, that's not a nice thing to say to the Master of your Guild." Sekrom laughed.

"You know I was talking to you, Sekrom!" Natsu glared.

"Oh...then go ahead an kill me...oh wait, but if you do that, then you kill the Master as well. My, aren't you in a predicament."

'Shit...what can I do? I want to use the stones, but I doubt I will get lucky like the first time.' He clenched his fists. 'In any case, I have to do something.' He then charged.

Natsu ignited his fists once more. "Come on then! Kill your Master!" Natsu smirked as his flames suddenly turned blue. 'Huh? Wait a minute! That can't be!' Sekrom noticed too late as Natsu punched Makarov's abdomen. The moment the blue flame touched Makarov's body, it started to freeze. "You bastard..." Sekrom glared at Natsu as he felt the cold ice start to immobilize him.

"I don't want to fight the Master, but...I also know you can't fight me for Zeref's sake if you are unable to move. So what's the choice going to be? Get out and fight me like a real man..or freeze and do nothing?" Natsu smirked.

"How about neither?" Natsu eye's widened at the smirk. He then noticed something move below him and looked down to see Makarov's shadow forming into a different shape.

"What the...?" The shadow formed into a different human being and suddenly move away from Natsu and Makarov and toward Levy and Bisca. "Oh no! Run away!" Natsu screamed at the two girls.

The two girls wanted to, but for some reason they were frozen in place. Then suddenly the shadow took over Bisca's shadow and she screamed in pain. "Bisca!" Levy screamed.

"Shit!" Natsu removed his arm from Makarov and gently lowered him down. "You fucking coward!" He yelled at Sekrom, but his eyes widened as Bisca was now glaring at him. However, what really made his eyes widened was the hand that was around Levy's neck.

"Now then, you have a choice." Sekrom spoke in Bisca's voice. "Will you attack your comrade and hurt her with your own hands or I let this woman die by the hands of her comrade and have her suffer the rest of life with her hands covered in the blood of her comrade? Which do you pick, Natsu?"

"Damn you..."

**To Be Continued...**

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes: <strong>Yeah, Yeah I know. You have been waiting for a long time, but here it is. As for the length, I know it's not as long as some of my other chapters, but I've been busy with other things in my life that I thought you should get at least a chapter update. Anyway, here is your Christmas present everyone! As for when I update next time, who knows. Yeah I know that sucks, but I have stuff to do with work and school so yeah, but I'll try to get the next chapter done as soon as possible! So please don't give up on this story!


	27. Natsu and Co VS Darkstalkers Part 3

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related which includes the characters of Fairy Tail.

**Rated M! You have been warned!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 27: Natsu and Co Vs The Darkstalkers Part 3<strong>

Juvia and Cana ran through the town in search for Elfman and Mirajane. Luckily they managed to avoid any sort of confrontation with any of the Thunder God Tribe members that remained. If what Natsu told them was true then the remaining members were being possessed by the Darkstalkers.

The only trouble they were currently having was finding Elfman and Mirajane. They thought of splitting up, but knew very well that that was not a good idea.

"Damn it, I wished Natsu would have at least told us where they were." Cana muttered in annoyance.

"Juvia agrees."

The duo continued to run through the town and looked in every direction they possibly could to find them.

"Elfman!" Cana shouted in hopes he would be able to hear her.

"Mira-san!" Juvia shouted as well.

Nothing, but that didn't stop them.

They continued searching for the siblings, completely unaware of the man watching over them as they did so. The man could have attacked them, but he decided to wait it out. 'I guess...I could give them a little help...' The man cast a spell which allowed the duo's voices to become louder than they were to everyone besides them. 'With all four of you gathered...it will benefit us to take all of you out...'

* * *

><p>Elfman watched as Mirajane slept quietly on the bed. He would occasionally look outside the window to make sure no one who would be a threat to his sister would find them. He would look sadly at his older sister. However, he was more mad than sad. He made a promise to protect her so that what happened with Lisanna wouldn't happen to the remaining member of his family. He knew everyone in Fairy Tail was his family, but Mirajane was his real family and would do anything to protect her.<p>

However, he couldn't do anything when she was possessed by that monster, that Darkstalker as Natsu would call it. He felt so weak. He couldn't keep his promise and that made it hurt more than any injury he sustained. "Damn it..." He gritted his teeth in anger. Clenching his large fists as tightly as possible. He hated being weak. He had to get stronger, but how?

He then thought back to Natsu and saw how incredible he became over the past 2 years. He was so strong that it made him completely jealous. He wanted to be as strong as him. He trained almost everyday and yet he wasn't as strong as him. He knew thinking like this was manly, but he couldn't help himself.

After thinking it over for a while, he came to a decision. After this entire fiasco with Laxus and the Darkstalkers, he was going to ask Natsu to help get him stronger. He needed to get stronger and who else to ask than Natsu.

"Elfman!" His ears perked up at the calling of his name and he stood up. He walked toward the window and opened the frames. He poked his head out and couldn't find anyone that was near ear shot.

"What the...?" He asked as he looked around. "I must be hearing things..." He told himself. He moved his head back inside and when he did, he heard his name being called once more.

"Elfman!" He poked his head out again and yet he still couldn't find anyone who would be calling his name.

"I think I might be losing it..." He said to himself and rubbed his hair.

"Juvia sees him!" He turned his head to his right and finally saw both Juvia and Cana a long way down the street.

"What the hell? Cana? Juvia? They're so far away...but why can I hear them as if they're really close." Elfman wondered. He then started to grow suspicious as he watched the two of them run towards him. He looked back inside toward his sister and furrowed his eyebrows. 'I will protect you this time...' Clenching his fists, he jumped out the window and landed on the street. He turned in the direction that the two of them were coming from.

"Elfman!" Cana shouted with a wide smile on her face. "Glad we finally found you." She told him.

"Juvia is glad as well."

Both women stopped when they noticed something weird about the larger man. "E-Elfman...?"

"Why are the tow of you here?" He asked as he had his head lowered.

"We came to find you. We were told that Freed was going to come after you and Mira." Cana explained.

Freed?" He repeated his name.

"Yeah..." She replied with slight hesitation. 'Something is wrong here...' Cana made sure to not let her guard down as she sensed something was not right with the way Elfman was acting. "By the way, where is Mira?"

"Why do you want to know?" He asked, still not lifting his head.

"Why? We came here to help you." She told him.

"How do I know that's what you really came here for?" He asked with a voice that told her to choose her words wisely. Cana groaned at the way Elfman was acting and if she turned to look at Juvia, she would see a very confused and worried girl.

"It is, Elfman." She told him in a clam voice. "We were asked by Natsu to come and find you because Freed was going to come after you."

"Natsu...?" He finally lifted his head to look at her.

"Yes." Cana answered with a nod.

"Juvia can also vouch for her words."

Elfman looked at both of them, trying to find any sign of either of them lying. He still didn't fully trust the former Phantom Guild member, but he knew Cana wouldn't be lying, would she? However, he suddenly remembered what Natsu said.

_'From what I can understand from his explanation, these monsters can take over someone's body and have the ability to completely become the person they take over. They can talk like them, act like them and even use their magic the same way, almost as if there was nothing wrong with them.'_

He glared at the two of them and he knew he couldn't trust them. He didn't know if he could trust them, but he was not going to take nay chances, especially when it concerned protecting his sister.

To the shock of both of them, Elfman cast his take over magic as both of his arms changed. "Beast Arm: Bull!" His arms turned black as if he had the fur of a bull on his arms.

"Elfman!" Can shouted in shock. "What are you doing?"

"Sorry, Cana...Juvia..." He apologized while clenching his fists. "I have to protect Nee-san!"

"Wait a minute, Elfman! We're to help you! We don't have any Darkstalkers in us!" She shouted, hoping her voice can get through to him.

"How can I believe you!?" He yelled back. "Nee-san...Nee-san was possessed by one of them and yet she didn't show any signs of being different than she normally does!"

"Shit..." Cana cursed under her breath as it didn't look good for her and Juvia.

"I want to trust you...I really do...but...I have to protect Nee-san! I already failed to protect her and I can't fail again!" He roared and charged at them.

"If that's how you want it!" Cana gritted her teeth as she took out her magic cards and threw them at Elfman like shurikens. Elfman simply raised his arms in front of him in an 'X' formation to defend himself. Some of the cards flew past him, with some that were able to cut his skin, while others stabbed him in the arms, but he continued forward without stopping. "Elfman stop!" She pleaded again, but he was standing over the two with one of his arms raised above him.

"I'm sorry, but I have to protect Nee-san!" He went in for the attack, but both women were able to jump back in time as Elfman's fists slammed down onto the ground, creating some cracks around the area he struck.

"Elfman! Stop this! We want to protect Mira too!" Cana tried again, but it didn't help.

"Let Juvia handle this." Juvia told her as she stepped forward in front of Cana. Elfman once again ran toward the duo. She raised her arm up and pointed it at the charging Elfman. "Water Lock!" Juvia created a large circular mass of water around Elfman as he was trapped inside it. Elfman quickly tried to hold his breath, but he couldn't hold it in for long before he opened his mouth and started to suffocate from the water.

"Hey..." Cana said with worry as she saw what was happening to Elfman. "Hey! We don't want to kill him!"

"Juvia knows." She replied. "Juvia will release the water lock as soon as Juvia knows he will settle down."

"O-Okay..." Cana sighed in relief as she watched Elfman slowly lose consciousness.

"I can't have that happening now, can I?" Cana's eyes widened at the voice as she turned her head and met eye to eye with a member of the Thunder God Tribe.

"Freed!" She yelled as the green haired mage looked down at the two women. Juvia averted her eyes from Elfman and her water lock to stare up at Freed as well.

"It seems we have arrived at an interesting situation." He spoke as he looked over at the water lock Juvia had placed on Elfman."Dark Ecriture: Hold."

Juvia's eyes widened as she felt her body suddenly get tighter, which made her unable to move. "J-Juvia...can't move..."

"What!?" Can shouted in shock.

"I wonder what everyone will think of her when she kills poor Elfman. Seeing as how she's a former member of the Phantom Guild...she will be seen as a traitor and lose the trust of everyone." Freed said as he jumped down.

"Damn it Freed!" Cana growled and glared at the green haired mage.

"No...Juvia doesn't want to...lose their...trust..." Can turned her head to look at the water mage and saw the fear in her eyes.

"Juvia..." Cana whispered.

"Juvia wants to stay...to be with Gray-sama..."

"Damn you, Freed!" Cana whipped out some of her magical cards and threw them at Freed like shurikens. "Release your magic!"

Freed simply side stepped to avoid the cards and calmly looked at her with narrowed eyes. "Unfortunately your magic is too weak against me."

"Damn you..." Cana gritted her teeth. She turned her head to look at Juvia and Elfman and could see that Elfman already has lost consciousness and who knows how much time he had left. 'I have to save them.' Glaring back at Freed, she drew multiple cards and threw them all at once at Freed.

Freed drew his sword and swiped at the cards, destroying them before they could hit him. "I'm quite disappointed."

"Why are you doing this?" Cana screamed.

"Why? Because Laxus should be the true Master of Fairy Tail." Freed told her.

"Laxus..." Cana narrowed her eyes at him. 'Wait a minute if there is a Darkstalker in him then it should know that the guy Natsu was fighting was the one controlling them. Laxus should also have a Darkstalker in him so then...' Cana had an idea, but she didn't know if it would work. She took a look over at Elfman and Juvia and one look at them and she knew she had no other options. "I wonder about that." She smirked at Freed.

"Hm? What are you saying?"

"You say Laxus should be the true Master of Fairy Tail...but...doesn't he just have a simple Darkstalker inside of him?" Freed didn't react.

"Darkstalker?" He asked. Cana didn't know if he was bluffing, but she pressed on.

"That's right and apparently we found out that the one controlling them isn't Laxus, but the guy inside Master was the true mastermind behind all of this. If that is true, then...that wou-" She didn't get to finish as Freed suddenly appeared in front of her and went for an attack with his sword. Cana reacted as quick as she could, but the sword managed to leave a cut on her cheek. She winced at the cut and placed a hand over it to see blood already trickling down from it.

"I do not know what you are talking about, but don't you dare finish that sentence." Freed told her.

'Oh...interesting...I wonder if that is the Darkstalker or Freed himself that just said that...' Cana wondered. 'Whatever the case, I managed to get him angry...come on Cana...think...what is Freed's weakness...'

As she tried to think of it, Freed went in for another attack. This time he was moving much faster, which caused Cana to lose whatever thought she had and focus on dodging the incoming sword. She barely was able to dodge and backed away from him by rolling away.

"Dark Ecriture: Pain!" Freed cast his runes and aimed it at Cana. Cana couldn't avoid the runes and was meant with incredible pain coursing through her body.

"Aaaaaahhhhh!" She screamed and then fell to her knees from the pain.

"Cana-san!" Juvia called out as she struggled to get out of the spell he cast on her.

"It seems you have lost." Freed told them as he simply watched Cana get tortured and Elfman slowly dying by Juvia's water lock.

"Please stop this!" Juvia called out to him.

"Sorry, but until this game is over and Laxus wins, then I will let you all go. However, it seems one of you won't be able to make it to the end." He looked over at Elfman and saw that his skin was turning slightly blue from the loss of air.

"I...won't...let...you...do this..." Freed turned to Cana as she struggled to get back to her feet, despite the pain coursing through her body.

"Impressive that you are trying to get up, but it's no use." Freed told her and then pointed his sword. "It's time I finish you."

"Hehehe..." He raised his eyebrows at the chuckle.

"What's so funny?"

"I...just remembered...you're weakness..." She smirked and glared at him.

"My weakness?"

Cana nodded and then slowly went to get her cards and pulled out three of them. Using all the strength she could muster, she threw the cards toward him. "Sexy...Lady Card..."

The cards suddenly transformed into three beautiful ladies in swimsuits and immediately went to hug Freed. The moment they touched him, Freed's face turned deep red and the magic runes he cast on Cana were released as he lost his composure. "W-W-WHAT THE...!?"

"Oh...aren't you a cutie..." One of the woman said, rubbing her hand across his chest. Freed's face turned an even more crimson as Juvia suddenly felt her body back in control.

"Juvia is free!" Without a moment of hesitation, Juvia released her water lock as Elfman fell to the ground.

"Elfman!" Cana screamed and ran over to him, wincing slightly at the sore muscles in her body. "Hold on, Elfman!" She cried out and placed her ear to his mouth to see if he was still breathing. Her eyes widened when he wasn't. "Damn it!" She quickly placed one hand over the other on his chest and started pumping the water out of his lungs. "Come on! Don't die on us...Elfman!" She pumped as hard as she could against his chest. "Think about what Mira will do if she found out you'd die here!"

Juvia could only watch as her eyes showed fear that she killed someone from the guild she recently joined. She only wanted to be accepted. The most terrifying thought she had was how Gray would have reacted. Just the thought of the ice mage glaring at her with cold eyes and hate her forever brought fear to her very core. 'Please...'

"Damn it!" Cana shouted out with frustration as she raised her hands and formed them into a fist and slammed them down on his chest. Elfman's eyes suddenly opened and he spat out all the water in his lungs. He then began to cough and spit out whatever water remained as he started to fill his lungs with air. "Elfman!" Can shouted in joy.

"Thank goodness..." Juvia smiled.

"W-What the hell..." Elfman coughed out. He opened one of his eyes to see a grinning Cana above him. "C-Cana..."

"You baka..." She said and let out a sigh of relief.

"W-What happened..." He asked and did his best to sit up. He managed to prompt himself up with his elbows and when he did he saw Juvia with a smile on her face. "J-Juvia..."

"Juvia is glad you are okay." She told him.

Elfman stared at her as he remembered what happened before he lost consciousness. He was trapped in some sphere full of water and did all he could to escape, but couldn't. He started to lose consciousness, but then remembered something else before his consciousness faded away. Something to do with the color green.

He then caught something at the corner of his eyes and by coincidence, it was green. He turned his head and his eyes widened at the sight of Freed being hugged and touched by three beautiful women in swimsuits. Cana followed his gaze and she glared at Freed. "Cana...Freed..."

"Listen to me, Elfman. Freed is not who you think he is." She told him.

"Yeah..." His response surprised her as she turned her head to him. "I didn't know he was so manly..."

"That's not it!" She yelled and smacked him in the back of his head. Juvia could only sweat drop. She sighed in frustration. "Freed is not who you think he is. You thought one of us had one of the Darkstalkers, right?" Elfman looked at her and nodded. "Well guess what, we aren't the ones with monsters inside of us. Freed is!"

"What?" Elfman was in shock.

"I'm surprised that my magic trick was working on him. I thought the Darkstalker would change Freed and not make him weak against his weakness, but I was wrong." Cana said. "This might just be the thing that we needed to stop these monsters." She smirked.

"I see...I'm sorry for doubting you two." Elfman apologized.

"Don't mind it!" Cana smiled.

"Juvia should apologize too. Juvia is sorry." Juvia lowered her head.

"Don't worry about it." He told her and stood up once some of his strength returned to him. "A man always forgives his friends!" He yelled out.

"That's the spirit!" Cana smirked as Juvia nodded with both girls looking at each other and then smiling.

"Kyaaah!" The trio turned their heads as they saw the three beautiful women get pushed away from Freed and then poof away into cards.

"How dare you..." Freed growled as he had his head lowered. His eyes were covered by his bangs, but they can feel the anger emitting from him. "You will pay for embarrassing me like this..." When he lifted his head, the trio saw that he had activated his Dark Ecriture, with his right turning to a purple color. "Dark Ecriture: Darkness."

The trio looked in horror as Freed started to transform into a large, vicious demon. Once his transformation was complete he let out a terrifying roar. "Freed..." Cana looked at him in shock. She couldn't believe he could do something like this. She walked forward and stood next to Juvia. "Freed! Don't let that monster control you!" Freed however, didn't listen to her.

"Now..." He growled. "...prepare to die." In a flash, Demon Freed appeared in front of Cana and had a sphere of dark energy charging in his hands. Cana's eyes widened as she couldn't catch up to his new found speed.

'Oh no...' She thought as the attack was getting closer to her. She tried to move, but couldn't as her legs wouldn't listen to what her brain was telling them. She could only stand and await the attack to hit her.

She then suddenly felt someone push her out of the way and when she turned her head to look at who did, she saw strands of blue hair. "Juvia will make sure...her new friends don't get hurt..."

"Juvia!" Cana screamed.

"Darkness Flare Bomb!" The attack struck Juvia and she was blasted by the attack and sent flying in the opposite direction. Her clothes got slightly torn from the blow and lost consciousness. Elfman was in shock, but quickly got out of it to go run towards her and managed to catch her before she hit the ground hard. Elfman skidded to a stop and looked down at the water mage.

"Juvia!" He shouted. He looked at her and saw that she wasn't moving except for her chest that showed she was still alive.

Cana could only stare in shock at the wounded water mage. 'Juvia...why...?'

"That stupid Phantom Child...but I guess it would have been better to get rid of her first." Demon Freed commented as he glared at Juvia. "After all, she would betray Fairy Tail at any time, so getting rid of her first was a good thing."

"FREED!" Cana screamed in anger as she threw her magic cards at Freed. Freed looked at her and simply raised his arm to block her cards. One did however, get stuck to his hand and a few seconds later, it exploded. Demon Freed grunted a bit, but otherwise was unfazed by that explosion.

"Is this really your true strength." Freed asked in annoyance. "Honestly, it's pathetic." He turned to her. "Now then, hold still while I finish you off like I did to that Phantom girl." He told her and was ready to charge at Cana, but Elfman suddenly punched Freed in the face and sent him flying straight into a house.

"Elfman!" Cana shouted as she looked at male Strauss Sibling in shock.

"What kind of man insults and attacks a woman after doing a manly thing like sacrificing themselves for a friend? You are not manly, Freed!" He roared in anger as he transformed his arms into his Black Bull Take Over.

Freed quickly got up and walked out of the house he crashed into without any signs of damage being dealt to him by Elfman's blow. "A man? Elfman...you are an idiot..." Freed told him. "The only person you should ever call a man...is Laxus!"

With the same speed as before, Freed appeared in front of Elfman and his fists were powered up the darkness energy and punched Elfman in the face, the same way he did to him. Elfman was sent flying a long way before crashing down to the ground and skidding to a stop. "Elfman!" Cana screamed.

"Don't think I forgot about you." Freed said as he appeared behind Cana. Cana slowly turned her head and looked up to see Freed towering over her with a menacing look on his face. Unlike before, however, she was able to move her body and reached for a card and tossed it to the ground. It stabbed right into the ground and from it smoke popped out as she took this chance to get away from Freed. "Foolish woman...like a simple trick like this would work on me..."

Freed stormed through the smoke and towards her. He was gaining speed and was just about to attack her before he was intercepted by Elfman, now his arms taking the form of his Iron Bull Beast Take Over. He swung his arm for a punch, but Freed lifted his forearm and blocked the punch. "I won't let you win..." Elfman told him.

"Then you will die." Freed told him. Elfman's eyes widened when he was getting pushed back by Freed's arm.

'Damn...this is bad...' He thought as he did his best to hold back.

'No, Elfman can't win...there has to be something we can do...' Cana thought as she tried to think of something. It then hit her as she remembered what Natsu said. She looked up in time to see Elfman get punched once again. This time, however it was in the stomach and then Freed spun around and kicked him away, towards her. He landed next to her. "Elfman!"

"Damn it...he's too strong..." He said as blood trickled down the corner of his mouth.

"Elfman! There is a way for you to defeat him." At this, Elfman looked at her with wide eyes.

"There is?"

"The stone, the stone that Natsu gave you! That's the way we can defeat him." She told him.

"The...stone..." He then remembered what she was talking about and reached weakly into his pockets and took out the stone. "I see...but...Natsu said that unless we weaken him...we can't defeat that monster..."

"This isn't the time to thinking about! Natsu gave us this chance to defeat one of those monsters. It's risky, but if we don't do it then Juvia's sacrifice would be for nothing." Elfman's eyes widened when he saw Cana's eyes brimming with tears. "If we don't stop him then everyone would be in danger. Master, Gray, Erza, Mira..." At his older sister's name, he lifted himself up to his feet and glared at Demon Freed.

"I will protect Nee-san...I will protect everyone...I will protect my family! I won't lose anyone ever again!" Elfman shouted. He then thought back to another thing Natsu told him and Erza. 'I will protect everyone...I will protect them!' Clenching the stone in his hand, he stabbed himself with the stone, much to Cana's surprise.

"No! Elfman! Natsu said that it was poisonous!" Cana screamed. Elfman ignored her and closed his eyes as he felt magic enter his body. The magic felt incredibly weird, but he could also feel the power emitting from the magic. He could feel himself getting stronger. He let out a scream at all the sudden magic that was going throughout his body as a green light enveloped him and shot into the sky.

"What?" Demon Freed looked on in shock. 'Where is he getting all this power from?'

Cana could only look on in amazement. 'No way...his magic is going through the roof...'

"Aaaaaaahhhhh!" Elfman roared to the sky as the green light came down and only enveloped his body. Suddenly, his body started to transform into a beast Cana never seen before. Elfman's skin turned into green scales and his face changed to what looked like the shape of a dragon's mouth and jaw. On his back grew several sharp black spikes and his feet turned to reptilian feet. His elbows and knees transformed into black guards similar to the spike son his back. His transformation ended with a guard on his chest that left a circular hole in the middle that was about a foot in diameter. "Beast Soul: Armadigon."

Cana could only stare in awe at the new beast form Elfman transformed into. It looked like a hybrid of both an armadillo and a dragon. She didn't even know such a beast existed. She then looked at the stone that fell to the ground next to Elfman. 'Maybe...that stone came from this beast...'

"What the hell is this!?" Freed demanded an answer from either of the two.

Elfman answered for the both of them, but in his own way. He appeared in front of Freed and slammed his shoulder into him. Freed felt the full effect of the slam as he was sent flying. Elfman didn't stop his attack as he caught up to the airborne Freed and slammed his guarded elbow onto the chest of Freed. The impact cracked the ground under Freed as he coughed up blood.

"Go Elfman!" Cana cheered. "You can win!"

"Damn it...I won't lose to you!" Freed growled in anger. "Darkness...Breath!" He charged his dark energy and created a large tornado that engulfed Elfman. The Strauss sibling was lifted off the ground in the tornado and Freed took this chance to escape from under him. Once he was free, he looked up to see Elfman clenching his fists inside the tornado and with a whip of his arms, he managed to disperse the tornado. "Damn you!" Elfman turned his head to Freed's direction and watched as his form was suddenly changing again.

"WRYAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

Cana placed her hand sin front of her ears as the deafening scream was too painful for her to hear. 'What the hell!?' She looked up and her eyes widened as she the new transformation that Freed took. She thought he looked like a demon before, but now he looked more like a mix of both a demon and a monster. 'This is insane...'

"Wryaaaahhhh!" Freed screamed again, but it was not as loud as the one previously. Freed's new transformation had added black darkness armor and his face didn't look anything like it did before as saliva drooled from the corner of his mouth and he had much sharper teeth then before. "Wryaaah!" It let out another roar and this time charged at Elfman who shielded himself with his arms. Freed struck Elfman with a strong jab that slid him back a few feet.

'This thing...it's a lot stronger...' Elfman thought as he took the initiative this time and threw a hard punch to Freed's face. The blow did more damage then Elfman thought it would, but when he thought about, he understood why. The new transformation was one where the Darkstalker fused itself with Freed, causing the Darkstalker to come out of hiding, even if it fully wasn't out. When he took a closer look, he could see some steam, like if his punch burned Freed. 'I can win this!'

"Wryaaah!" Freed roared again and jumped high into the air and dark energy formed around Freed's fists as he descended down toward Elfman. Elfman clenched his own fists and pulled his arm back before they both punched each others fists, causing a sonic boom like effect that caused Cana to get near Juvia and hold onto her so that neither she or her get blown away.

Once the wind subsided, she lifted herself up to look back to both of them as they started to throw punches at each other. Most got dodged by both parties as Cana was watching in amazement at the fight. 'This fight...it's incredible.'

"Wryaaaahhhh!" Freed roared as he and Elfman connected with each others fists, creating small gusts every time they connected. Eventually Freed dodged one of Elfman's punches and then jumped above him. Elfman looked up to see Freed getting ready to use the same move he hit Juvia with. Knowing he had to either dodge or do something, he decided to take a risk. He watched as Freed descended down toward, ready to release his attack on him. Making his decision, Elfman, crouched down and hid himself like an armadillo and the spikes on his back became erect and sharp. Freed continued his attack anyway and made contact, which only resulted in the spikes piercing through Freed's hand. "WRYAAAAAHHHH!"

Freed screamed in pain as steam once again came out from the wound. He tried to get his hand out from the spike, but he couldn't do it. Taking this chance, Elfman lifted himself up and jumped as his body did a front flip and then slammed down onto Freed's body as the spikes pierced through him. The scream that escaped from him was the loudest Cana had heard. Elfman quickly rolled off of Freed as the spike came out of his body. Steam escaped from the wounds the spikes made as Elfman rolled up to a stand up position and then turned to face his opponent.

"Did...he win?" Cana wondered. She really hoped he did, but as she looked at the steam, she was afraid that Elfman might have hurt Freed in the process. A moment later, darkness shot up into the air and they looked up to see the darkness transforming into something. "Oh great, now what?" The darkness finally finished it's transformation as the Darkstalker came into full view of both of them as it fell down and landed on one of the roofs. Cana's eyes widened in shock at the disgusting monster and placed a hand to her mouth. 'That thing...was inside Freed...'

Despite seeing it before, Elfman could not get used to the disgusting image of the Darkstalker. 'This thing...was inside Nee-san...' It made him angry just thinking about it.

The Darkstalker did exactly as it's name implied as he stalked his prey, waiting for a chance to attack. "Wryaaahhh!" It roared at Elfman.

"So, you wanna fight!?" Elfman slammed his fist into his open palm as the green light from before enveloped him again. The Darkstalker roared once again and Elfman jumped up toward him and slammed into the wall of the building it was on, but missed the Darkstalker as he jumped out of the way and landed on the roof of the building opposite of the one it was on before. Elfman turned his body to face the Darkstalker and then jumped again towards it.

Like before, Elfman crashed onto the roof as the Darkstalker jumped to avoid him. This went on for a while as they began a game of cat and mouse across the roofs and buildings. At times, Elfman would try to punch the Darkstalker, but barely miss him. Despite gaining this new strength he was still not use to the beast form and it his movements were becoming more sluggish as time went by. "Wryaaahhh!" It roared again, almost as if it was provoking Elfman.

'This thing...it's trying to waste time until I can't handle this form...well guess what you disgusting piece of shit...I won't let you!' Elfman jumped once again and was quickly falling down towards him. Elfman crashed onto the roof of the building and this time crashed right through it and inside. The Darkstalker was already on the roof of the next building as it turned it's head back to search for Elfman.

"Wryaaaahhh..." It made a quiet scream as it tried to sense his prey. However, it couldn't sense him when he jumped out from behind him. Elfman wisely entered the building from below and jumped up to surprise the Darkstalker and it worked perfectly. Clenching his fist, he punched the Darkstalker straight in the jaw, burning it's skin and send him flying and crashing into a building. Elfman took off after it and jumped down into the building he crashed him into. He looked around for any sign of the monster, but the smoke made it really difficult.

'Where is he?' Elfman wondered. It was then that the Darkstalker suddenly jumped on Elfman and then threw him into another building, despite the burning sensation the Darkstalker felt in his hands. Elfman groaned from being tossed so easily and looked around the building he was tossed into. His eyes widened when saw a familiar face. 'No...'

The Darkstalker suddenly crashed down into the building and was now towering over the person in the bed. "Wryaaaaahhhhh!"

"Get away from her!" He yelled as the Darkstalker ignored him and grabbed Mirajane with it's tail and wrapped it around her tightly.

"Aaaahhh!" Mirajane screamed from the tightness.

"Let her go, you bastard!" Elfman screamed and rushed toward the monster. However the monster quickly jumped up and landed back outside on the roof of the same building. Elfman followed it and landed on the roof as he glared at the monster. "Let her go!"

"Wryaaaahhhh!" It screamed and tightened it's hold on Mirajane causing her to scream from the pain.

"Nee-san!" Elfman screamed.

Mirajane opened one of her eyes as she stared at Elfman and then weakly said his name, "Elf...man..."

"You bastard!" Elfman had to save his sister. He got this strength in order to do just that and he was going to use it. He charged at the Darkstalker was preparing to jump again to avoid Elfman, but Elfman was ready. Right as the Darkstalker jumped up, Elfman planted his feet down and then bent his knees before jumping up at a much faster and stronger pace. The Darkstalker was in shock at Elfman's strong jump and was met with the strongest punch Elfman dealt to him as his fist was completely engulfed in the green light from earlier. The Darkstalker screamed in pain as the punch sent him straight down to the ground and the force was so strong that the Darkstalker was pushed deeper into the ground causing a a crater to be formed.

The attack by Elfman caused the Darkstalker to loosen the grip around Mirajane and let he free. Elfman quickly caught her as he landed on the ground behind the crater. He looked down at his sister, who smiled warmly up at her younger brother. "You rescued me...thank you...Elfman..." She smiled and lost consciousness once again.

"Nee-san..." He replied sadly as he let her rest. He turned around to look down at the Darkstalker as it tried to get back up, but the blow he was dealt was so strong that parts of his body was burned off. Elfman lowered Mira down to the ground gently and walked toward the crater. As he walked he noticed that his Take Over magic was dissipating with every step meaning he was running out of time. He slid down to the monster and stared at it as it continued to struggle. Clenching his fist and raising his arm, Elfman said his final words to the monster. "Go to hell." With a strong punch to the face, the Darkstalker's face was completely burned off, killing it once and for all.

Elfman sighed as his Take Over magic disappeared and he returned to normal. Taking a deep breath, he stood up, but when he took a step, his eyes widened and he began falling. Elfman weakly stared at the dirt in front of him as his body wasn't moving and he felt completely weak. He was slowly losing consciousness, but just before he did, he saw a couple of feet walking toward him. The only thing he could remember were that the person was wearing low heel boots.

* * *

><p>"Hey, wake up...wake up you damn idiot..." Gray slowly began opening his eyes as he looked up and saw Gajeel standing over him.<p>

"G-Gajeel...what are you...?" He started asking.

"Don't ask questions and just get the fuck up. We gotta go deal with Laxus." He told him and stood up.

"W-What?" Annoyed already, Gajeel kicked Gray in the ribs. "Ow! What the hell was that for!?"

"To motivate you into getting up." He told him.

"What the hell? How does that motivate anyone!?"

"It woke you up, didn't it?" Gajeel told him and he started walking away. "Come on, we gotta go deal with Laxus and end this god damn fighting..."

"What about Master? Isn't he going to stop Laxus?" Gray asked.

"Hmph, that old man...no...he's not so quit your yapping and come on already! If I wasn't told to find you I would have already already found Laxus and kicked his ass!" Gajeel yelled.

"Told? By who?"

"Enough with the questions damn it and let's go!" Gajeel yelled and appeared behind Gray to kick him forward.

"What the hell!?" Gray yelled at him.

"Just go, damn it!"

* * *

><p>Natsu stared at Sekrom who was inside Bisca as she held Levy's throat. "So, what is it going to be, Natsu?"<p>

"You fucking coward!" Natsu yelled as Sekrom only smirked at him. 'Damn...what do I do? Come on Natsu...think...think of something...'

"Looks like your time is up. Now watch as I kill this girl." Levy screamed and coughed as the hold around her neck tightened and she started to suffocate.

"Damn you!" Natsu charged at Sekrom and clenched his fist ready to attack Bisca, but was hesitating, which was not left unnoticed by Sekrom. Smirking, he looked at Natsu and swiftly kicked him in the gut. Natsu stumbled back and fell to his knees as the heel of Bisca's boots managed to stab him in the abdomen.

"Pathetic...you are just plain pathetic...how are you supposed to beat me if you can't hurt your own comrade." He told him, chuckling at the end.

"Damn you..." Natsu lifted his head. Normally he would attack her like if they were involved in one of their famous guild brawls, but he knew that in order for Sekrom to even release Levy he would have to use his full strength which might hurt Bisca far worse than a normal guild brawl. He did not want to hurt his friend, especially if his strength could potentially kill her.

"Like I said, you have to make a choice and seeing as how you don't want to make one, then I'll make one for you." He tightened his hold around Levy's neck as she screamed.

"Levy!" Natsu screamed.

"N...Na...Natsu..." Levy managed to mouth out.

"Let her go!" Natsu roared and erupted in his flames.

"If you want me to let her go then you know what you have to do!" Natsu glared at him as he clenched his fists in anger.

"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhh!" Natsu roared and once again charged at him. 'Damn it...what do I do...think...think...wait...wait a minute...I remember...I remember...'

* * *

><p>"<em>There is also one other thing that is interesting about the Darkstalkers and Sekrom."<em>

"_What's that?"_

"_Like I said before they can copy anything about the person and act like them, right?"_

"_Yeah..."_

"_Well, apparently they also copy each person's weakness, meaning...even if they are full control, they will still be weakened by a person's own personal weakness."_

"_Wait, what are you saying?"_

"_What I'm saying is...if a person is afraid of let's say a bee...then if a bee shows up in front of the person with a Darkstalker or Sekrom himself inside them, the person's fear of the bee will take over whatever control they have on them. It's a weird side effect which is why Zeref eventually got rid of them despite telling Sekrom that he was only putting him away for a future purpose. Interesting, right?"_

* * *

><p>'That's it!' Natsu found the way out of this mess as he continued to charge at Sekrom.<p>

"Yes! Punch your own comrade, Natsu Dragneel!"

"Aaaaaaahhhhh!" Natsu screamed as he threw his arm at Sekrom in Bisca's body. However, it wasn't a punch that came.

*Anime sound effect ~_WOOOOOOOOOW~_

Time seemed to stop as Natsu closed his eyes and felt his face get red at the action he just committed. Sekrom, in Bisca's body was in utter shock. He was in so much shock that the grip around Levy's neck loosened and Levy fell down to the ground and began coughing to catch her breath. Once she was able to stable her breathing, she looked up to see what happened. The moment she did, her eye's widened and her face became crimson.

"W-Wha..." Levy mouthed out.

Natsu groaned as he couldn't believe he had to resort to this, but nether less, squeezed the hand he had around one of Bisca's breasts. 'I can't believe I resorted to this...Alzack is going to kill me...but it worked...' Natsu thought as he looked up to see Bisca's body react to the touch of her breast with her face getting as red as humanly possibly.

"W-W-hat the hell!?" She said and it was hard to tell if it was Bisca or Sekrom who said those words. "You pervert!" Bisca shouted and then slapped Natsu across the face.

"Gah! Natsu screamed from the pain as he fell to the floor.

"What the hell is the big deal, Natsu!?" She screamed. He sat up and looked at her while rubbing his cheek.

"Wait, does that mean you're no longer in his control?" Natsu asked.

"Huh?" Bisca asked as she didn't know what he was talking about as she covered her chest with her arms.

"You bastard..." Natsu's eyes widened as he quickly stood up and came face to face with Sekrom in Makarov's body. "How dare you..."

"Heh, looks like I know how your trick works, now I can really get fired up."

**To Be Continued...**

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes:<strong>

I know what you all are going to say, but I've been busy with college, work and a film I'm working on so I can actually graduate and start a career in the film, television and theater world. I don't know when I would be able to update, but I am not letting this story die so don't worry about that happening alright! I plan to finish this story, the only problem is is that it might take a lot longer than I anticipated. So until next time!


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